Hana Financial Closes Shareholder Register... Will It Start Mid-Term Dividends?

Final Decision to Be Made at Board Meeting End of This Month
Market Estimated at 700~800 Won per Share

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Hana Financial Group is accelerating preparations for an interim dividend and is expected to be the first to kick off the dividend parade among financial holding companies in the second half of this year. Although Hana Financial's interim dividend is usually conducted annually, attention is focused on how much the dividend scale will expand in conjunction with the lifting of the dividend restriction measures by financial authorities at the end of last month. Along with this, the scale of other financial holding companies is also expected to be gauged based on Hana Financial's interim dividend amount, drawing interest from the financial sector.

According to the financial sector on the 3rd, Hana Financial closed its shareholder registry on the 30th of last month to confirm shareholders eligible for the interim dividend. A Hana Financial official stated, "The final decision on whether to proceed with the interim dividend will be made at the board meeting at the end of this month, after the Q2 earnings announcement."

However, the market is treating Hana Financial's dividend as a foregone conclusion. Previously, despite posting record-high earnings last year, Hana Financial lowered its payout ratio to 20% following the financial authorities' recommendation and set the dividend per share at 1,350 KRW (1,850 KRW including the interim dividend), which was a 16% decrease compared to 2019. Because the financial authorities' dividend restriction recommendation has ended, the financial sector expects Hana Financial to conduct an interim dividend around August this year as well. Hana Financial is the only one among the five major financial holding companies to have conducted interim dividends annually. In particular, since Chairman Kim Jung-tae took office, there has never been a year without an interim dividend.

The focus is on the scale of Hana Financial's dividend. Currently, it is expected that a higher dividend will be paid thanks to better-than-usual earnings. Hana Financial posted a consolidated net profit of 852 billion KRW in Q1 this year. It is also forecasted to record a net profit of over 800 billion KRW in Q2. If this trend continues, the annual net profit is expected to surpass 3 trillion KRW for the first time ever. Additionally, Hana Financial's common equity tier 1 capital ratio was the highest among financial holding companies at 14.1% as of Q1, indicating sufficient dividend capacity, which is also positive.

The financial sector estimates the interim dividend per share to be around 700 to 800 KRW. The recent soaring stock price of Hana Financial is another factor raising expectations. On the 4th of last month, Hana Financial hit a 52-week high of 48,000 KRW during trading, and on the 28th, it again rose to the 48,000 KRW level.

From 2013 to 2019, Hana Financial increased its interim dividend annually, expanding the dividend per share to 500 KRW. Even last year, when the overall economy was depressed due to COVID-19, the interim dividend was maintained at 500 KRW per share.

A financial sector official said, "With the high possibility of interim dividends from financial holding companies, attention is naturally focused on the scale of Hana Financial's interim dividend, which is the first to start. While interim dividends have a positive effect of alleviating concerns about ex-dividend price drops, the more important issue is how much the total dividend payout can be expanded."

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