Banks seek to pay interim dividends following earnings surprise
Posted : 2021-04-25 16:06
Updated : 2021-04-25 17:02
Seen above are headquarters of Korea s four major financial holding firms including KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori. Courtesy of each firm
By Park Jae-hyuk
The nation s four major financial holding companies expressed their intentions last week to pay interim dividends to shareholders this year following better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
The move is widely viewed as an effort to win back investors who were disappointed by the relatively low dividend payments last year. Domestic financial firms were forced by regulators last year to cut their dividends ratio to below 20 percent to bolster their financial soundness amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Woori faces growing pressure to buy brokerage firm
Posted : 2021-04-11 15:51
Woori Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / YonhapBy Park Jae-hyuk
Woori Financial Group is facing growing pressure to re-acquire a brokerage license to bolster its non-banking business and further boost its stock price, amid the government s accelerated attempts to completely privatize the banking group.
Last Friday, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC) unloaded 2 percent of its stake in Woori for 149.3 billion won ($134 million), lowering its overall ownership in the group to 15.25 percent. This was the state deposit insurer s first divestment from Woori following a government announcement in June 2019 that it would recoup all taxpayer money injected into the group by 2022.
NongHyup in quandary over dividend policy
Posted : 2021-02-22 16:54
Updated : 2021-02-22 16:56
NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Son Byung-hwan speaks during its management strategy meeting at its headquarters in Seoul, Feb. 3. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
NongHyup (NH) Financial Group is trying to decide on whether to reduce its dividend offerings, as financial watchdogs ratchet up pressure on the firm to maintain financial soundness by scaling down its profit returns amid the pandemic uncertainty.
In 2020, the group paid dividends worth 500 billion won ($450.7 million) to its sole shareholder ― the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF). NH s dividend payout ratio last year reached 28 percent.
But it remains unclear whether the company will be able to keep a similar level of dividend offerings this year, as other commercial banking groups are cutting their rates down to around 20 percent amid authorities growing pressure. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)
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The global bancassurance market reached a value of US$ 1191 Billion in 2020. Bancassurance refers to an arrangement between a bank and an insurance firm, wherein the bank can earn additional revenue by selling the products of the insurance company. It also helps to expand the financial product portfolio of banks, thereby increasing their turnover with little or no capital outlay which further gives a high return on equity. Since banks have become the main distribution channels for insurance products, bancassurance also benefits the insurance firms as it increases their market reach and expands their consumer base. As this arrangement can be profitable for both companies, it is gaining popularity across the globe. Looking forward, the publisher expects the global bancassurance market to reach a value of US$ 1696 Billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.98% during 2021-2026.
NH Investment likely to be top beneficiary from SK Bioscience IPO
Posted : 2021-02-18 16:01
Updated : 2021-02-18 17:05
NH Investment & Securities CEO Chung Young-chae, left, and NongHyup Financial Group CEo Son Byung-hwan / Courtesy of NongHyup Financial Group
NH Investment expected to earn 5.5 billion won for IPO underwriter fee
By Anna J. Park
With vaccine manufacturer SK Bioscience s initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for next month, NH Investment & Securities is set to become the largest beneficiary of the public offering fee.
Given that the contract manufacturing organization (CMO) firm s expected share price band for the IPO ranges from 49,000 won ($44.3) to 65,000 won and a total of 22.95 million shares will be offered during the IPO, it is estimated that the SK affiliate could raise 1.49 trillion won ($1.35 billion) through the IPO, said analysts.