Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Shinhan, KB in another race to get better credit ratings
By Jhoo Dong-chan
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Shinhan and KB Financial Group, which have engaged in a cutthroat race to become the nation's leading financial group, are also vying for better global credit ratings, data suggests.
The ratings are an important barometer that estimates a firm's financing capacity, often referring evaluations from two global credit rating agencies ― Moody's and Standard & Poor's.
Both Shinhan Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and KB Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo have stressed the importance of their global market due to the ever-worsening business environment in Korea. It is essential for the two firms to receive strong ratings from global rating agencies in a bid to make inroads into the global market.
Moody's announced in June it awarded A1 long-term and Prime-1 short-term issuer credit ratings to KB Financial Group with a stable outlook for both ratings.
“KB Financial Group's diversified portfolio of subsidiaries and strong capital maintained at KB Kookmin Bank provide the group with flexibility in servicing its debt,” the rating agency said in a press release.
“There is a very high probability of support from the government of Korea in times of stress, given KB Financial Group's importance as the largest financial group by assets in Korea.”
A KB Financial Group official said the group has done its utmost in “laying the groundwork to attract foreign capital financing.”
However, KB wasn't the first financial group to receive the A1 long-term rating from Moody's.
The agency assigned Shinhan Financial Group the A1 credit rating in 2018. It was the first time for the nation's financial group to get the A1 rating from Moody's.
The group added the A rating from Standard & Poor's earlier this year.
Shinhan Financial Group said it will actively utilize its solid credit rating background if it needs to issue a bond.
Shinhan Bank, the group's banking subsidiary, has also received the Aa3 rating from Moody's, the A+ rating from Standard & Poor's and the A rating from Fitch. The bank is the only Korean bank to feature the three credit ratings from big three global credit rating agencies.
“Chairman Cho often emphasizes a firm's sustainability and social responsibility at various group occasions,” a group official said.
The two financial group's brokerage subsidiaries are also engaging in a fierce race to receive better global ratings.
Shinhan Investments, Shinhan Financial Group's brokerage unit, got an A3 rating from Moody's and an A- rating from Standard & Poor's last year. Following Shinhan Investments' move, KB Securities also received the A3 rating from Moody's and the A- rating from Standard & Poor's.