By Kim Jae-won
Hana Bank aims to increase its presence globally from China to Indonesia and the U.S. with its localization, differentiation and synergy maximization strategies.
The lender said it is seeking to be the best foreign bank in China in 10 years. The fourth-largest lender by assets in Korea said that it will adjust its products, human resources and system to the second-largest economy in the world. The lender also plans to differentiate the bank from its competitors spreading the corporate culture of its parent company Hana Financial Group, which focuses on customers’ value the most.
Hana is also looking to find new revenue resources in the investment banking market in the world’s fastest-growing economy in collaboration with its brokerage affiliate Hana Daetoo Securities.
“Our goal is to become the most profitable foreign lender in China by 2020,” said the bank in a report released last month.
To achieve this, Hana is also considering mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and initial public offering (IPO).
It said that its deposits in China are increasing at a fast pace, a good sign for Hana’s expansion plan. The amount reached 9.1 billion yuan in March, up 3.1 percent from the previous quarter.
Its number of customers is also rising drastically. It had 22,000 individual customers and 1,900 corporate clients as of March. In terms of individual customers, the figure is about twice that of December 2009.
Hana has 13 business channels in the nation ― seven branches and six business offices. Most of them are located on the east coast of China, the nation’s emerging economic belt. It has branches in Shanghai, Shenyang, Qingdao, Yantai, Beijing, Changchun and Harbin.
Hana’s high portion of Chinese customers demonstrates the lender’s successful localization. In terms of deposits, Chinese customers accounted for 64.1 percent in March followed by Koreans at 33.7 percent.
For loans, Chinese customers accounted for 56.3 percent, while the other 43.7 percent came from Koreans.
Hana Financial is considering acquiring overseas lenders. It hopes to grow by acquiring lenders in countries including Indonesia and the United States.
"Hana Financial does not have a branch in the western U.S. We have been stepping up efforts to expand into this region," said a high-ranking official at Hana Financial. "We are also looking into buying a mid-size bank in Indonesia."
The remarks come after Hana Financial Chairman Kim Seung-yu told reporters last week that the banking group was planning to acquire overseas banks, including those in the U.S., after completing the Korea Exchange Bank deal. Kim had also said that Hana Financial will push to expand overseas regardless of the KEB takeover.
As of March, Hana Financial had two subsidiaries, one each in China and Indonesia. It also had seven overseas branches and offices in countries such as Japan and Singapore.