By Kang Seung-woo
Woori Bank has been cited for its service, both at home and abroad.
The Banker, a global publication based in Britain specializing in banking and finance, named Woori the Bank of the Year in Korea in 2010, given that it showed a solid financial status, efforts to increase shareholders’ profits, well-planned business strategy and distinguished performance, the local lender announced on Wednesday.
The prize is not a rarity for Woori, headed by CEO Lee Chong-hwi, as it was its fourth title that the bank has bagged. It previously won the award in 2004, 2007 and 2008.
It praised Woori given that it bounced back from its poor marks in 2008 to become the best commercial bank in Korea within a year.
The bank’s 2009 net income reached 950 billion won, up from 230 billion won the previous year, and it also posted 0.41 percent and 7.32 percent in return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), respectively, both of which were better than its competitors. The two indexes are a barometer of a bank’s profitability.
Woori, the nation’s second-largest bank by assets, considerably improved its Bank for International Settlements (BIS) rate and loan to deposit ratio to secure stability in raising funds and it built infrastructure to provide effective customer services by establishing an information technology (IT) center.
The lender’s effort to push toward “green finance” also drew praise from the magazine in that it has prepared itself to cope with potential changes in the financial market.
In addition, Woori claimed the Korean Customer Satisfaction Management Awards for the fifth straight year after making a full-scale effort to offer the best services to customers, while receiving a presidential citation for its contribution to the support for housing finance of low-income households.
“Woori established itself as the best local commercial bank with it being selected as the one representing Korea by the prestigious magazine. We expect the bank’s recognition and status to improve,” an official of Woori Bank said.
“But we will continue trying our best to strengthen the bank’s presence in the Asian banking industry.”
Meanwhile, Woori Financial Group, the holding company of the bank, was sitting 71st among The Banker’s top 1000 world banks in terms of assets as of the end of 2009.