"European Finance, Investment Opportunities"… KIC Hosts London International Financial Council Meeting

Centerbridge: "European Financial Firms' Valuations Attractive"

Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) announced on the 29th that it held the 25th London International Financial Cooperation Council under the auspices of its London office on the afternoon of the 28th (local time).

The meeting was attended by more than 30 investment officials from the government, public investment institutions, securities, banks, and insurance companies, including the Financial Attach? of the Korean Embassy in the UK. The presentations were given by Matthew S. Kabaker, Co-CEO of Private Equity at Centerbridge Partners, and Ben Langworthy, Co-CEO for Europe. Centerbridge is an alternative investment management firm headquartered in New York, USA, managing assets worth $38 billion across private equity, private credit, and real estate.

Co-CEO Kabaker stated, “Last year, the number of private equity deals in Europe was about 7,600, similar to 2021?2022, but the deal size decreased by approximately 28%. We expect the situation to improve this year, but inflation and interest rates may still have an impact.” He argued that there are attractive investment opportunities in the financial industry under the current circumstances. “As the prolonged low-interest-rate environment comes to an end, financial institutions have seen increased interest income but are facing difficulties due to deteriorating borrower creditworthiness and asset write-downs,” he said. “Accordingly, the valuation levels of financial institutions are lower compared to the past.”

Co-CEO Langworthy asserted that the European financial industry is attractive. He said, “The asset quality and return on equity (ROE) of European financial institutions are excellent. Nevertheless, the price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of European financial firms is about 40% lower than that of S&P 500 companies, which is a significant widening compared to the historical average discount of about 10%.”

Park Jin-sung, head of KIC’s London office and organizer of the event, said, “It was a valuable opportunity to review recent issues in the private equity market and future investment directions.” He added, “This year, we will continue to strengthen exchanges with Korean investment institutions and cooperate to build a portfolio that can achieve stable long-term returns.”

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