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By Lee Kyung-min
Shinhan Financial Group reported 981.6 billion won ($836 million) in net profit in the July-September period, narrowly beating its rival KB Financial which reported 940 billion won in the same period, data showed Friday.
Shinhan said while the third quarter figure is a 1.5 percent drop from three months earlier, its performance in the first nine months resulted in over 2.8 trillion won in 2019, a 9.6 percent increase from the previous year when it saw over 2.6 trillion won in the January-September period.
The industry leader said the better-than-expected performance came due to its successful diversification of revenue sources including global, non-banking and non-interest income businesses.
The group's global business recorded a net profit of 292.1 billion won in the third quarter, up 47.1 billion won from the previous year, mostly due to the successful management of Shinhan Bank Vietnam.
The group's card, life-insurance and capital subsidiaries also saw a combined 15 percent increase in net profit in the third quarter, a notable feat considering its most lucrative subsidiary, Shinhan Bank, reported only a 3 percent year-on-year increase in net profit in the same period.
The group's global investment banking business also posted a 520 billion won operating profit, a 37 percent increase from the year before.
Shinhan's non-interest income business saw a 37 percent year-on-year increase in the third quarter, while its interest income business saw a 5 percent on-year increase.
"We were able to report a handsome profit as a result of our continued efforts to strengthen our capabilities in a whole range of businesses amid low growth. We will continue to aspire to be an exemplary financial group," a Shinhan official said.
KB Financial, on the other hand, attributed the performance to its stable increase in interest income and sound asset management.
The group's third-quarter interest income slightly dropped to over 2.3 trillion won, but that of the first nine months was over 6.5 trillion won, a 4.2 percent increase from the year before.
"We focused on a stable and solid asset increase as the current downtrend of the key base rate will pose a substantial threat to corporate growth. We will find ways to finance small and medium-sized enterprises with robust financials to boost interest income," a KB official said.
Meanwhile, NH Financial Group saw over 1.3 trillion won in net profit in the third quarter, a 29.4 percent increase from the year before.
The group said the positive performance came as its bank and securities subsidiaries saw major improvements, backed further by a solid growth of its investment banking business.
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