KB subsidiaries getting spotlight for achievements

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo speaks with young employees in this file photo. Subsidiaries of the group have been in the spotlight for changes and achievements made since his inauguration. / Korea Times file

By Yoon Ja-young

After a successful reshuffle by KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, the group’s subsidiaries are getting the spotlight for changes and achievements.

KB Savings Bank is expanding loans to diverse groups such as low-income earners and those with poor credit ratings, as well as corporate executives and employees and the self-employed, at lower interest rates than its competitors. The bank got an award from the Financial Supervisory Service last year for active financing for the working class.

KB Capital, meanwhile, is seeing steep growth in auto financing. It signed an MOU with India’s Mahindra Group, the biggest shareholder of Ssangyong Motor, to set up a joint capital company last April. It is expected to create significant synergy. It was also designated as the official financier for Jaguar Land Rover Korea.

The company is also fulfilling corporate social responsibility by launching diverse products such as installment financing services for rural residents.

KB Real Estate Trust, which got the spotlight for the purchase of the YTN Tower near Seoul Station, is seeking opportunities in the housing market. It set REITs with Incheon Development and Tourism Corporation to engage in renting in the city, as well as getting approval for REITs to let studios in Yongsan.

KB Investment set an investment cooperative with 50 billion won assets earlier this month, to help small startups enhance value of their intellectual property.

KB Investment and Securities, meanwhile, got the spotlight by being designated as the lead manager for the IPO of PSI International, a U.S. IT company, in Korea.

KB Asset Management’s achievement in the pension fund market, based on higher investment return, and KB Kookmin Card’s MOU with NHN Entertainment for cooperation in FinTech, or financial technology, also made headlines. The card company aims to be the first mover in the sector, enhancing customer value.

KB Life Insurance, meanwhile, has focused on enhancing competitiveness in the field by reshuffling its direct channels.

“All our subsidiaries will seek a strengthened competitive edge for the group through differentiation, as well as maximizing synergy among themselves,” a KB spokesman said.