Shinhan Financial Group Posts Record Half-Year Net Profit Since Inception: 2.4438 Trillion KRW, Up 35.4% YoY (Comprehensive)

Non-Bank Sector Performance Stands Out with 13.1% Growth YoY
Quarterly Dividends Under Review...Final Decision at August Board Meeting
Strengthening Digital Platforms...Bank Deposit Product Coverage at 68.9%
Continuing to Create Social Value Through ESG Strategy Implementation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Shinhan Financial Group posted a net profit of 2.4 trillion KRW in the first half of this year, achieving the largest quarterly performance since its founding. Profits and losses increased evenly across all group companies, including banking, card, securities, life insurance, Orange Life, and capital. In particular, the contribution of capital market-related subsidiaries such as securities, capital, and asset management increased, improving both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of profits.

On the 27th, Shinhan Financial announced that it recorded a net profit of 2.4438 trillion KRW in the first half of the year. This is a 35.4% increase compared to 1.806 trillion KRW a year ago.

The group’s total assets reached 861.7 trillion KRW, up 7.4% from 802 trillion KRW a year ago. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was 0.52%, the Basel III (BIS) capital adequacy ratio was 16.5%, and the common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio was 13.4%, maintaining asset soundness and capital adequacy at stable levels.

A Shinhan Financial Group official said, "The main feature of this performance is that the group’s fundamental strength was upgraded once again through balanced profit growth across all sectors," adding, "Especially, the results in the non-bank sector, where the group invested with a long-term perspective, stood out."

Balanced Profit Growth Across All Sectors... Fundamental Strength Upgraded Once Again

Non-interest income in the first half increased by 13.1% year-on-year to 2.0143 trillion KRW. Through the group’s mid- to long-term inorganic growth strategy, incorporating significant non-bank subsidiaries such as Orange Life and Asia Trust into the group, fee income and securities-related profits increased, playing an important role in the growth of the group’s non-interest income.

The group’s provision for loan losses in the first half was 359 billion KRW, down 463 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. The group’s loan loss cost ratio improved by 20 basis points compared to the previous quarter.

In particular, Shinhan Bank flexibly responded to prolonged low interest rates and the COVID-19 situation, setting aside 118.2 billion KRW in provisions, down 265.7 billion KRW year-on-year, and recorded a loan loss cost ratio of 8 basis points, the lowest ever.

Voluntary Retirement Conducted at Bank and Securities, Costs of 46.3 Billion KRW and 15.7 Billion KRW Recognized Respectively

The group’s operating expense ratio decreased by 1.2 percentage points year-on-year to 41.4%, continuing efforts to improve cost structure. Meanwhile, Shinhan Financial proactively conducted voluntary retirement in the second quarter, which is usually done in the fourth quarter, recognizing costs of 46.3 billion KRW and 15.7 billion KRW for the bank and securities divisions, respectively.

The group continuously expanded customer coverage of its digital platforms to actively respond to the rapidly changing digital environment.

The monthly active users (MAU) of the bank, card, and securities platforms were 7.48 million, 5.14 million, and 860,000 respectively, increasing by 9%, 26%, and 56% compared to the end of the previous year. Shinhan Bank’s deposit product coverage maintained a high level at 68.9%.

Shinhan Financial, which recorded its largest performance since its founding, is considering paying equal quarterly dividends to shareholders as of the end of June, based on the previous year’s dividend per share, to implement a predictable shareholder return policy. Details regarding quarterly dividends will be finalized through a board resolution scheduled for August.

A Shinhan Financial Group official stated, "We plan to continuously strengthen the group’s digital platform competitiveness to respond to the rapidly changing digital environment," adding, "Through the promotion of ESG (environment, social, governance) strategies, we will accelerate environmental management and continuously create social value."

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