KB Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group have both reported record half-year earnings. The banks maintained stable interest income while securities firms boosted non-interest income, contributing to their strong performance. Notably, KB Financial is nearing entry into the '6 trillion club,' solidifying its position as the leading financial institution.
On July 23, both KB Financial and Shinhan Financial announced that their net profits for the first half of the year reached 3.8846 trillion won and 3.4427 trillion won, respectively, marking the highest earnings on a half-year basis.
KB Financial, which has held the title of 'leading financial institution' for three consecutive years until last year, maintained its status in the first half of this year. The profit difference between KB Financial and Shinhan Financial in the first half was 441.9 billion won, widening from 398.3 billion won during the same period last year.
Both KB Financial and Shinhan Financial benefited from robust interest income, while the booming stock market significantly boosted non-interest income.
KB Financial's interest and non-interest income for the first half were 6.4783 trillion won and 3.6292 trillion won, respectively, representing increases of 1.7% and 33.3% compared to the previous year. The stable interest income base, combined with the stock market boom, led to a substantial rise in commission income. Shinhan Financial's interest and non-interest income for the first half were 6.1585 trillion won and 2.6381 trillion won, reflecting increases of 7.7% and 22%.
The performance varied among non-bank subsidiaries. In the first half, KB Financial's non-bank net profit accounted for 44% of its total, while Shinhan Financial's was around 35%. To strengthen its non-bank subsidiaries, Shinhan Financial is considering mergers and acquisitions of insurance companies, including Lotte Insurance.
However, the core subsidiary 'leading bank' status belongs to Shinhan Bank. Having secured the leading bank position in the first quarter, Shinhan Bank recorded a net profit of 2.4585 trillion won in the first half, an increase of 8.5% from the previous year. In contrast, KB Kookmin Bank reported a net profit of 2.2254 trillion won, a 1.7% increase year-on-year.
With KB Financial and Shinhan Financial posting strong results, market analysts expect that the combined net profit of the four major financial holding companies (KB, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori) will also reach a record high for the first half. According to FnGuide, the estimated net profits for Hana Financial and Woori Financial in the first half are 2.49 trillion won and 1.536 trillion won, respectively. This would bring the total net profit for the four major holding companies to an estimated 11.3533 trillion won. Hana and Woori Financial are set to announce their first-half results on July 24.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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