Hana Financial Group Posts Record-High Net Profit of 1.21 Trillion Won in Q1 Since Merger

Core Profit Including Interest Income Up 13.6%
Bank Net Profit Rises, Securities Earnings Also Expand by 37%

Hana Financial Group recorded a net profit of over 1.2 trillion won in the first quarter of this year, posting its highest-ever quarterly performance since its merger with Korea Exchange Bank.

The exterior view of Hana Financial Group Myeongdong Building.

On April 24, Hana Financial Group announced through a public disclosure that its net profit for the first quarter of this year reached 1.21 trillion won, up 7.3% from the same period last year. This marks the largest quarterly figure since Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank officially merged in 2015. The previous record was set in the first quarter of 2012, when a one-time bargain purchase gain from acquiring Korea Exchange Bank stakes was reflected as a book profit, totaling 1.32 trillion won.

A Hana Financial Group official stated, "Despite ongoing uncertainties in domestic and global financial markets and costs such as foreign exchange transaction conversion losses due to rising exchange rates, we achieved results exceeding market expectations, thanks to diversification of our earnings portfolio, expansion of our asset base, and proactive risk management."

Interest income for the first quarter was 2.5053 trillion won, representing a 10.2% increase from the same period last year. This was driven by the group’s net interest margin (NIM), which rose by 0.13 percentage points from 1.69% in the first quarter of last year to 1.82% in the first quarter of this year. Non-interest income was 583.6 billion won, down 11.9% over the same period. This decline was due to foreign currency translation losses caused by a rise in the won-dollar exchange rate, as well as poor bond management results stemming from higher market interest rates.

However, among non-interest income, fee income surged by 28% year-on-year to 667.8 billion won. A Hana Financial Group representative explained, "The increase was driven by growth in trust fees, securities brokerage fees, and investment advisory and management fees related to asset management, thanks to diversification of the bank’s revenue structure and enhanced core competitiveness of non-banking affiliates such as securities companies. In addition, strengthening of our high-quality corporate finance (IB) portfolio boosted income from underwriting and advisory fees, further contributing to the increase."

As a result, core profit for the first quarter, which combines interest income and fee income, reached 3.1731 trillion won, up 13.6% over the same period last year.

The group’s core subsidiary, Hana Bank, posted a first-quarter net profit of 1.1042 trillion won, up 11.2% from a year earlier. Although there were one-off costs including 82.3 billion won in foreign currency translation losses due to the higher exchange rate and 75.3 billion won in special retirement expenses, productive finance growth, increased foreign exchange and asset management fees, and expansion of retirement pension reserves made a significant contribution.

Interest income stood at 2.1843 trillion won, up 12.8% year-on-year, and fee income reached 297.3 billion won, a 19.1% increase over the same period. As of the end of March, Hana Bank’s total assets stood at 694.8983 trillion won, with trust assets accounting for 130.4542 trillion won.

Among non-banking affiliates, Hana Securities recorded a first-quarter net profit of 103.3 billion won, up 37.1% from a year earlier, driven by growth in its wealth management (WM) and investment banking (IB) divisions. In addition, Hana Card posted a net profit of 57.5 billion won, Hana Capital 53.5 billion won, Hana Life Insurance 7.9 billion won, and Hana Asset Trust 6.7 billion won.

As of the end of March, Hana Financial Group’s common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio stood at 13.09%, and its estimated BIS capital adequacy ratio was 15.21%. Return on equity (ROE) was 10.91%, up 0.29 percentage points year-on-year, while return on assets (ROA) was 0.73%.

Meanwhile, the board of directors of Hana Financial Group resolved on this day to pay a quarterly cash dividend of 1,145 won per share for the first quarter of this year. This represents an 11.6% increase compared to last year’s average per-share dividend. In addition, to fulfill the previously announced 400 billion won share buyback and cancellation program, the board also resolved to repurchase and cancel 200 billion won worth of its own shares.

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