[1mm Financial Talk] KB and Shinhan Attend MWC2024 for 'IT Intensive Study'

by Yoo Jaehoon

Published 29 Feb.2024 09:48(KST)

Executives and employees of major financial holding companies have entered IT 'study mode,' directly attending the Mobile World Congress 2024 (MWC 2024) held in Spain. This comes as IT capabilities, including fintech-originated original application (app) competitions, are classified as future core competencies.

According to the financial sector on the 29th, KB, Shinhan, and Woori Financial Holdings dispatched delegations composed of executives and employees to MWC 2024, which is being held in Barcelona, Spain, until today. MWC is the world's largest mobile communications exhibition, showcasing the latest technologies and trends related to mobile fields such as 5th generation (5G) mobile communications and artificial intelligence (AI).

Jin Ok-dong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, Moon Dong-kwon, President of Shinhan Card, and other officials are touring the SKT booth at the Fira Gran Via exhibition center in Barcelona, Spain, on the second day of the opening of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 on the 27th (local time).
Chairman Jin attended MWC in person for the first time in the domestic financial sector to advance financial services and toured the exhibition hall. Photo by Joint Press Corps

At KB Financial, 30 executives and employees in the digital and AI fields attended, including Jin-ho Jeong, Vice President of the Digital Transformation (DT) Promotion Headquarters at KB Kookmin Bank; Chang-hwa Yuk, Vice President of the AI and Data Innovation Headquarters; San-eop Kwak, Vice President of the Digital Business Group; Junho Lee, Managing Director of the Mobile Business Headquarters; Hojun Lee, Executive Director of the KB Kookmin Card Platform Business Group; and Hyesook Moon, Executive Director of the KB Capital Digital Business Headquarters.

Through this visit, KB Financial plans to conduct an in-depth review of ways to apply smart mobility, considered one of the next-generation digital technologies, across various fields within the group. KB Financial has been actively integrating smart mobility with finance, investing 200 billion KRW in T map in 2022. This integration allows expansion into various areas such as new and used car loans and insurance.

Additionally, during the visit, KB Financial will pursue cooperation with overseas fintech companies such as challenger bank Revolut and simple payment company Checkout in Barcelona. KB Financial explained that this is also to strengthen digital capabilities.

Shinhan Financial was represented at MWC by Chairman Ok-dong Jin, along with Dong-kwon Moon, CEO of Shinhan Card; Sang-tae Kim, CEO of Shinhan Investment Corp; Jun-hwan Kim, Head of Digital Part at Shinhan Financial Group; Soo-han Im, Head of Digital Solutions Group at Shinhan Bank; and Sang-wook Han, Head of DX Group at Shinhan Life. This is the first time a chairman of a domestic financial holding company has directly visited MWC instead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It is reported that Chairman Jin toured booths of domestic companies such as Samsung Electronics and SKT, as well as overseas IT companies.

Chairman Jin's direct visit to MWC is interpreted as an effort to materialize the 'invisible bank' strategy he has emphasized. During his tenure as Shinhan Bank president, he led the introduction of the new bank app 'New SOL,' and spearheaded the adoption of future-oriented branches like the Digilog Branch and digital desks.

The expansion of major financial holding companies' presence from CES to MWC reflects the growing recognition of IT capabilities in mobile and other fields as core future competencies for financial companies. As internet-only banks like KakaoBank and Toss Bank play the role of market disruptors, traditional financial institutions, including commercial banks, are also putting their lives on IT. For example, the five major financial holding companies (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup) are all competing to build a 'one app' that can handle multiple services such as banking, insurance, card, and securities within a single app. A financial sector official said, “Since digital competitiveness is evaluated as future competitiveness, it is natural to see and hear about the latest IT trends.”