Woori Financial Group's Q1 Net Profit Down 2.1% Year-on-Year to 603.8 Billion Won

CET1 Ratio Surpasses Mid- to Long-Term Target at 13% Ahead of Schedule
Financial Market Volatility Grows Amid Middle East Conflict

Woori Financial Group's net profit for the first quarter of this year was 603.8 billion won, down 2.1% from the same period last year. This figure falls significantly short of the market consensus, which was around 815 billion won. However, the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio stood at 13.6%, surpassing the mid- to long-term target of 13%.

On April 24, Woori Financial Group announced that its net profit for the first quarter of 2026 was 603.8 billion won, a decrease of 12.9 billion won (2.4%) compared to 616.7 billion won in the same period last year. The company attributed this decline to two main factors: a decrease in profits related to securities and foreign exchange due to increased financial market volatility caused by the war in the Middle East, and the recognition of one-off provisions at overseas subsidiaries.

The group’s net operating income for the first quarter was 2.7577 trillion won, up 5.6% year-on-year. Net interest income rose 2.3% to 2.332 trillion won, driven by the expansion of productive finance centered on corporate banking and a stable net interest margin (NIM). Non-interest income increased by 26.6% to 454.6 billion won, thanks to greater contributions from non-banking businesses. In particular, fee income reached a quarterly all-time high of 576.8 billion won.

Capital strength improved. The group’s CET1 capital ratio was 13.6%, up 0.7 percentage points from the end of last year (12.9%), hitting a record high. Woori Financial Group explained, “We were able to strengthen our capital base through asset rebalancing and revaluation of tangible assets without a capital increase, and even excluding the revaluation effect, we achieved a CET1 ratio of approximately 13%. This has laid the foundation for us to simultaneously pursue growth strategies and shareholder return policies.”

Woori Financial Group plans to accelerate efforts to strengthen its non-banking sector competitiveness. Woori Investment & Securities will expand its business base and risk capital supply capabilities through a capital increase of approximately 1 trillion won. Tongyang Life Insurance will be made a wholly owned subsidiary through a comprehensive stock swap, with the aim of fully reflecting its profit-generating capacity within the group.

Shareholder returns will also be expanded. Woori Financial Group decided to increase its first-quarter dividend by 10% year-on-year to 220 won per share. It is the only bank holding company to introduce a tax-free dividend scheme, which will be applied from this year for the next five years. A Woori Financial Group representative stated, “We will ensure that both the banking and non-banking sectors grow together based on a balanced business portfolio. We also plan to continuously enhance shareholder returns, leveraging the growing contribution of non-banking profits.”

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