BNK Financial Group Records 630.3 Billion KRW Net Profit Last Year

Cash Dividend of 510 Won Per Share Including Interim Dividend

2% of Net Income to Be Used for Share Buyback and Cancellation

BNK Financial Group (Chairman Bin Dae-in) reported a net profit of 630.3 billion KRW last year.

BNK Financial announced on the 5th through its earnings disclosure that the group's consolidated net profit attributable to controlling interests for 2023 decreased by 143.9 billion KRW (18.6%) compared to the previous year.

The banking sector recorded a net profit of 626.7 billion KRW, down 72.2 billion KRW from the previous year (Busan Bank -76.7 billion KRW, Kyongnam Bank +4.5 billion KRW), due to large-scale proactive provisioning to enhance loss absorption capacity and increased costs related to win-win finance.

The non-banking sector showed a net profit of 143.0 billion KRW, down 74.3 billion KRW from the previous year, despite increased gains related to securities, due to decreased fee income and increased provisions for non-performing assets.

Capital (-59.2 billion KRW) and investment securities (-44.9 billion KRW) both saw declines in net profit compared to the previous year, while savings banks (+6.9 billion KRW) and asset management (+20.7 billion KRW) turned profitable by generating net profits.

The group’s asset soundness indicators showed a non-performing loan ratio of 0.73% and a delinquency ratio of 0.60%, which rose by 15 basis points and 2 basis points respectively from the previous quarter despite proactive risk management and continuous efforts to reduce non-performing assets. Additionally, the group’s capital adequacy indicator, the common equity tier 1 ratio, improved to 11.67%, up 51 basis points from the previous year due to active risk-weighted asset management.

At the board meeting held that day, a dividend payout ratio of 26% (up 1 percentage point from the previous year) and a cash dividend of 510 KRW per share were approved. The group also decided to repurchase and cancel treasury shares worth approximately 13 billion KRW, equivalent to 2% of net profit.

BNK Financial Group CFO Vice President Kwon Jae-jung stated, “Excluding additional provisions and support for win-win finance, the net profit for 2023 slightly exceeded last year’s level, but profitability indicators declined somewhat, and overall performance was unsatisfactory, which is regrettable.”

Vice President Kwon added, “Starting this year, we will pursue solid growth by expanding assets with profitability and improving capital efficiency, steadily increasing net profit, and prioritizing active shareholder return policies such as expanding dividend payout ratios and repurchasing and canceling treasury shares as our top management tasks.”

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