DGB Financial, Last Year's Net Profit 327.4 Billion KRW... Down 14.6% YoY 'Poor Performance'

Deterioration in Both Soundness and Profitability
Banks 282.3 Billion, Securities 84.9 Billion, Capital 27.6 Billion

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] DGB Financial Group announced on the 6th through its earnings report that the group's net income attributable to controlling shareholders for 2019 was 327.4 billion KRW.

This represents a 14.6% decrease compared to the 383.5 billion KRW recorded the previous year. DGB Financial explained, "Although the apparent net income seems to have decreased compared to the previous year, considering that approximately 160 billion KRW of bargain purchase gains related to the acquisition of Hi Investment & Securities were reflected in 2018, the ordinary profit for 2019 is analyzed to have slightly increased compared to the previous year."

Both soundness and profitability slightly deteriorated. The holding company's common equity tier 1 capital ratio fell by 0.24 percentage points from the previous year to 9.56%. The holding company stated, "We plan to thoroughly manage the capital ratio along with appropriate growth this year, and it is expected that dividends will gradually increase in the future."

Profitability indicators, return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), recorded 0.47% and 7.27%, respectively, decreasing by 0.17 percentage points and 2.00 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Despite the decline in overall performance, growth in the banking sector stands out. The operating profit and net income of the main affiliate, Daegu Bank, increased by 14.5% and 20.2% year-on-year, reaching 368.2 billion KRW and 282.3 billion KRW, respectively.

Daegu Bank's KRW loans increased by 11.1% compared to the previous year, and soundness indicators such as the ratio of non-performing loans and delinquency rate improved by 0.17 percentage points and 0.10 percentage points, respectively. DGB Financial expects net income to increase further once market interest rates stabilize.

Non-banking affiliates Hi Investment & Securities and DGB Capital achieved net incomes of 84.9 billion KRW and 27.6 billion KRW, respectively.

A DGB Financial official said, "With increasing uncertainties in domestic and international economies recently, we will do our utmost to manage profitability and soundness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.