Woori strengthening ties between subsidiaries

Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Woori Financial Group will establish four different taskforces to strengthen ties between its subsidiaries' global, digital, wealth management (WM) and commercial investment bank (CIB) businesses, the group said Monday.

Designating the four businesses as the group's future growth engines, the holding company said each taskforce will play a control tower role to maximize synergy between its subsidiaries.

“Woori Financial Group expects these taskforces will set up a basic framework to stretch the group's business portfolio through cooperation between subsidiaries,” a Woori Financial Group official said.

“Under the newly established taskforce system, the group expects to enhance each subsidiary's ties in global, digital WM and CIB business. This will also create new business opportunities while more properly meeting customers' demands.”

Woori's WM taskforce will monitor and bridge each subsidiary's asset management business to enhance the group's competitiveness in the sector.

Under Woori Financial Chairman Sohn Tae-seung's vision for entry into the global market, the firm is doing its best to boost its presence in overseas markets. The group's taskforce for global business will help each subsidiary's entry in overseas markets while seeking opportunities abroad to overcome the nation's saturated financial market.

The group's CIB taskforce will bridge various IB businesses between its two subsidiaries ― Woori Bank and Woori Investment Bank. The official said the taskforce will actively take on these two subsidiaries' IB businesses to create synergy.

The taskforce for the group subsidiaries' digital businesses will strengthen non-face-to-face channels while operating the group's fintech incubating center ― the Woori DinnoLab.

Separate from the four taskforces to strengthen ties between its subsidiaries, Woori Financial Group said it will also set up an exclusive department for pension products to better meet customers' growing needs for retirement annuities. The department will also work together with the group's subsidiaries to roll out various pension products.

In a bid to strengthen the group's compliance and governance systems, Woori also established an anti-money-laundering team recently.

The group has been one of the most active players among the nation's financial firms in incubating fintech startups.

In June, it opened an application programming interface platform where fintech startup entrepreneurs and engineers can use the group's software tools and programs to build new digital services. It also held a conference to promote the platform to the nation's startups.