KB, Shinhan, Woori see share growth, corporate finance as H2 strategy

KB Financial Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Yoon Jong Kyoo speaks at a management strategy meeting on July 14. [Photo provided by KB Financial Group]

The chiefs of South Korea’s major financial institutions have proposed shared growth and restoration of trust as key management strategies for the second half of this year, a move that is interpreted as an effort to address criticism that banks are using their dominant positions to make excessive profit from high interest income.

KB Financial Group, Woori Financial Group, and Shinhan Bank announced on Sunday that they each held a management strategy meeting on Friday in the attendance of top executives and management officials.

KB Financial Group and Shinhan Bank emphasized “trust” and “good-hearted finance” externally while Woori Financial Group underscored the restoration of its reputation as a corporate finance powerhouse.

At the meeting attended by about 270 executives, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Yoon Jong Kyoo, KB Financial Group explored new changes at the group level under the theme of “moving towards the future” to provide its value of customer-centered management.

“KB should become a company with a purpose so that it becomes a trusted life-long financial partner to the customers,” Yoon said.

The executives that attended the meeting also discussed measures to strengthen its social role in relation to long-term management strategies.

At Woori Financial Group, Chairman Yim Jong-Yong and about 60 officials attended a management strategy workshop. Yim assessed the first half of the year as a “period of bold changes for Woori Financial Group” where it “led shared finance and laid the foundation for innovation in corporate culture.”

Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-Yong speaks at a group management strategy workshop on July 14. [Photo provided by Woori Financial Group]

At Shinhan Bank’s management strategy meeting attended by about 1,000 executives and employees, CEO Sang Hyuk Jung proposed a key message of “shared growth with customers and society through connection and expansion.”

Jung emphasized that Shinhan Bank “should become a good bank that coexists with the society” and as a “sincere corporate citizen,” it must “fulfill our social role and strive to be a good company that aims for excellence rather than being the best.”

The remarks by the financial chiefs are seen as a conscious response to the criticism against the banking sector that it has engaged in a bonus party based on interest income amid a high rate environment during the pandemic.

Banks were criticized for distributing profit to their employees instead of using it to enhance their competitiveness. As a result, banks, insurance companies, and card companies have been announcing large-scale shared growth plans, which are expected to continue on throughout the second half of this year.

The financial companies also discussed strategies based on recent industry trends such as artificial intelligence (AI).

“KB Financial Group should create value by innovating traditional capacity and assets in a world dominated by AI, mobile, and digital,” Chairman Yoon said. “We should strive to become a bionic company where humans and AI work harmoniously.”

Chairman Yim of Woori Financial Group also encouraged employees to make efforts toward IT governance innovation.

The financial groups also presented plans to secure profits.

KB Financial Group shared strategies to enhance the competitiveness of its core business, secure new growth engines, strengthen customer touchpoints, and build future infrastructure.

Yim from Woori Financial Group also noted that it should “achieve the financial goals for the second half of the year based on the revival of Woori Financial as a corporate finance powerhouse.”

Jung of Shinhan Bank stressed the expansion of business areas through connections with other industries to deal with external changes and internally, the connection of the group’s unique capacities such as retail, wealth management, and corporate services to create better customer service.