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By Park Jae-hyuk
JB Financial Group posted a record-high net income in the first half of 2019, surpassing DGB Financial Group to become the nation's second-largest provincial banking group in terms of half-yearly earnings.
The Jeolla Province-based group, which has Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank as its subsidiaries, said Friday it posted a 204.1 billion won ($169 million) net profit in the first half, up 47.5 percent from a year earlier.
The company attributed the better-than-expected performance to its efforts to enhance its financial stability and expand its presence in the province.
"We will build a solid basis for growth and establish a better risk management system through improvements in our managerial structure," JB Financial Group Chairman Kim Ki-hong said. "We will become a small but strong financial group showing the highest profitability."
DGB Financial Group also posted a record-high net income in the first half since it launched the holding firm in 2011.
However, its achievement was overshadowed by JB's performance.
The Daegu-based banking group, which has Daegu Bank as its subsidiary, posted a 201.6 billion won net profit during the period, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier.
DGB said its non-banking subsidiaries including Hi Investment & Securities it acquired in late 2018 helped the company make a profit amid the unstable economic conditions worldwide.
"We will do our best to manage our profitability and stability in the second half, as the uncertainty in the global economy is expected to linger," a DGB Financial Group official said.
BNK Financial Group, which was hit hard by the deteriorating economic condition in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, has become the only provincial banking group that suffered a decline in its net income.
The Busan-based banking group, which has Busan Bank and Kyongnam Bank as its subsidiaries, posted a 351.2 billion won net profit in the first half, down 1.8 percent from a year earlier.





































