By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter

Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Seung-yu has indicated that the nation's fourth largest financial holding company will join an upcoming race to take over Korea Exchange Bank (KEB).

``We remain interested in KEB. We are looking into every possible option for merger and acquisition (M&A), and KEB is one of them,'' Kim told reporters during a press conference held in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Friday.

Regarding the funding issue, he said, ``I don't think it is a big problem because there are many ways to raise funds for M&A. But I believe that what is important is not scale. I think corporate culture is really important (in M&A).''

For Hana, M&A is a must to stay a major player in the local financial industry as it remains far behind other financial groups in total assets. As of the end of September, Hana's total assets stood at 160.1 trillion won, compared to KB Financial Group's 333 trillion won, Woori Financial Group' 328.4 trillion won and Shinhan Financial Group's 311.2 trillion won.

Citing the global financial crisis, the veteran banker said, ``The past year was my toughest experience while working for Hana over the last 38 years. I thought we had managed risks well but in hindsight, it seems that we overlooked counterpart risks.''

``I expect our net profit to reach at least 300 billion won this year,'' he added. In the future, we will ``expand our investment in China, while increasing our presence in Indonesia by opening more branches and acquiring mid-sized banks there.''

shosta@koreatimes.co.kr