KB retains top banking group title in Q3

Image Caption

KB Financial Group retained its position as the top banking group in the third quarter, reaping a net profit of 1.37 trillion won ($1.01 billion), up 0.4 percent from a year earlier.

For the first three quarters of 2023 combined, the firm also gained a record-high 4.37 trillion won in net profit as it jumped 8.2 percent from the previous year.

In regulatory filings announced by the four biggest financial holdings companies this week, KB Financial Group outpaced second-ranked Shinhan Financial Group, which struggled with a year-on-year decline in earnings.

On Friday, Shinhan reported a net profit of 1.19 trillion won for the July-September period, down 27 percent from the previous year.

The company correspondingly saw its aggregate net profit shrinking 11.3 percent year-on-year to 3.81 trillion won in the January-September period.

In an analysis of its business performance, KB Financial Group said it “managed to balance out growth among banking and non-banking affiliates despite a demanding sales environment.”

KB Kookmin Bank, its flagship affiliate, logged a net profit of 996.9 billion won in the July-September period, up 21 percent year-on-year to make up for the losses of its non-banking businesses.

During the cited period, KB Securities reported an 8.4 percent decline in net profit, while KB Insurance saw a 10.7 percent fall and KB Kookmin Card posted a 35.4 percent drop.

Image Caption

Concerning its sluggish quarterly performance, Shinhan Financial Group explained multiple rare expenses that took place in the third quarter, such as for the early retirement of its employees and allowance on securities products.

Of the group’s major affiliates, Shinhan Bank logged an operating profit of 1.16 trillion won, down 5.7 percent year-on-year.

Shinhan Life Insurance saw a 2.8 percent year-on-year decline to reap 167.5 billion won in operating profit over the same period.

Also on Friday, Hana Financial Group announced its net profit in the third quarter totaled 957 billion won, down from 1.12 trillion won a year earlier.

But its combined net profit for the January-September period advanced 4.2 percent year-on-year to a record-high 2.97 trillion won, thanks to an increase in loans, non-interest incomes and efficient cost management, according to the company.

The growth was driven mainly by Hana Bank, which reported a net profit of 927.4 billion won for the third quarter and 2.76 trillion won for the first nine months of the year combined.

The smallest of the four banking groups, Woori Financial Group saw its net profit in the third quarter down slightly from a year earlier. The amount for this year was 899.4 billion won, compared to 899.8 billion won in 2022.

For the January-September period, its aggregate net profit totaled 2.43 trillion won, down from 2.66 trillion won a year earlier.