Expectations Rise for Quarterly Dividends from the Four Major Financial Holding Companies

KB Financial Closes Recent Shareholder Register... 1Q Implementation Likely Up
Shinhan Already Started... Hana Financial Also Expected

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] There are expectations that the four major financial holding companies (KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori) will initiate quarterly dividends. Anticipation for proactive shareholder return policies is growing.

According to the financial industry on the 20th, KB Financial Group announced on the 16th that it will close the shareholder registry for cash and stock dividends. The record date is set for the 31st. This is interpreted as a measure to finalize the list of shareholders for the quarterly dividend. Although the board of directors is scheduled to decide whether to implement the first quarter dividend, the industry largely expects the quarterly dividend to be almost certain.

Researcher Jaewoo Kim of Samsung Securities explained, "If KB Financial implements quarterly dividends, it is likely to adopt a strategy of gradually increasing the quarterly dividend rather than distributing equal dividends each quarter. It is important to view this positively from the perspective of expanding efforts to enhance shareholder returns, such as multiple share buybacks before COVID-19, the recovery of dividend payout ratio in February, and partial cancellation of treasury shares, rather than focusing solely on the dividend amount."

Meanwhile, Shinhan Financial Group already started quarterly dividends in the third quarter of last year. Prior to that, it paid interim dividends on a semi-annual basis. Hana Financial Group has also paid interim dividends since 2015 and is reportedly discussing quarterly dividends recently.

Woori Financial Group paid an interim dividend of 150 KRW per share for the first time last year and then amended its articles of incorporation to set the record date for interim dividends. Expectations are rising as interim dividends could lead to quarterly dividends like other holding companies.

These interim or quarterly dividends by financial holding companies are also positively evaluated from the perspective of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management. It is analyzed that the market will respond favorably as part of proactive shareholder return policies.

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