Shin Named Shinhan Fin. Holding CEO

Lee B.S. succeeds Shin as CEO of Shinhan Bank with Shin-Lee duo emerging to run Shinhan Fin. Group

The Shinhan Financial Group named Shin Sang-hoon, former president of Shinhan Bank as its president at its shareholders and board of directors meetings on March 17. The meetings also named Lee Baek-soon as president of Shinhan Bank, the flagship bank for the leading financial group in Korea, the group announced the personnel reshuffle on March 17. Shin succeeds Lee In-ho who resigned as his term of office expired and he, together with the new Shinhan Bank CEO makes up a two-top system to lead the financial group in this time of trouble under Chairman Ra Ung-chan, reports said, seeing that the names of those three top leaders of the group turned out to be the only registered directors on the court registry of the group and former president Lee In-ho left out.
An official of the group said both Shin and Lee worked together for a long time since they joined the group and know each other very well and they are expected at the forefront of leading the group out of the current financial crisis unscathed. Banking sources said Shin has long been tapped to head the financial group. There were rumors that the group might name some one outside the group, but they turned out to be just that, rumors, with Shin winning the final nod.
The significance of Shin's appointment is that he has taken over the position right next to Chairman Ra as the second highest official of the group. He joined the financial group in 1982 as one of the initial officers who participated in the launching of the group. He then held various positions in Shinhan Bank; He was manager of the bank's Yongdeungpo Branch, and was sent to Japan to manage the Osaka Branch. He took charge of the Fund Department of the bank and followed by manager of the Marketing Dep't.
Shin took over the CEO of Shinhan Bank in 2003 and led the merger with Chohung Bank while he was the CEO, which was termed as a successful transition. Since 2007, he has been deeply involved with the management of the group as a registered non-standing director.
Chairman Ra, as he left the entire matters to former president Lee, is likely to leave every thing to Shin in running the financial group again, making him virtually sole manager of the group.
Shin is expected to play a key role in uniting Korean residents in Japan who hold shares in Shinhan Bank, taking advantage of his stay in Osaka, Japan, while heading the Osaka Branch, where a large Korean community is located. Shin's appointment has been getting a special attention as Chairman Ra's term of office has only a year left to go and he might be name to succeed the chairman if nothing happened to the group's current management structure.
In the meantime, President Lee of Shinhan Bank solidified his position as a Shinhan Bank man ever since he joined the bank before the opening from SC Cheil Bank in 1982. He worked under his predecessor Shin at the Osaka Branch in Japan and for the time being he also was secretary to Chairman Ra where he became familiar with the workings of the group. Lee knows the operation of the bank thoroughly as he held various key positions serving the bank from working at the Osaka Branch, Tokyo Branch and as manager of the Individual Marketing Headquarters.
But that doesn't meant that he has a rosy future as the bank is faced with a lot of problems lately stemming from the financial crisis. Its BIS ratio at 13.42 percent was the highest among local banks at the end of last year also with high Tier 1 ratio of 9.3 percent, although they don't mean that they will always stay on the same level.
Lee, in his inaugural speech, said right now all banks are in crises which no one can deny and we are living in an uncertain age, requiring us to have endurance to go through all kinds of pains.
Lee also is faced with finding new growth engines after the crisis is over amid the great change in the banking industry brought on by the financial crisis. Shinhan Bank might have to find merger partners in order for it to continue to lead the banking industry by taking over Donghwa and Chohung Banks. He may be forced to fight off the criticism that the new leadership of the group represented by the Shin-Lee line is too pure Shinhan blood and needs the infusion of outside blood, meaning the group should fill the leadership positions with some one from outside the group. nw

President Shin Sang-hoon, right, of the Shinhan Financial Group and President Lee Baek-soon of Shinhan Bank hold the flag of the financial group after the formal announcement of their appointments.