Being on Top at Home and Overseas

Strong teamwork between head office and jobsites for quick response to customers

President Suh Jin-won of Shinhan Bank gives a speech at the bankOs ceremony for New Year.

President Suh Jin-won of Shinhan Bank said in his New Year's message that the bank was able to recover the level of its operations to pre-financial crisis levels last year and will do its best this year to create an occasion to be a top-class commercial bank not only at home but also abroad. "In order to bring that about, the bank should first make efforts to recover its trust from customers, shareholders and most of all from society. Last year, we realized the importance of trust as an asset for the bank," Suh said. "The starting point is by everyone working for the bank to do their best to manage customers" precious assets, staying on the main road, not violating basics and principles. We have to always keep in our minds the "Shinhan Way" that says always think from the viewpoint of the customer and act based on honesty and trust. We all have to do our best to implement the Shinhan Way so that we can survive and breathe easily again."
Suh said every member of the company should do something for society and the country as members of the joint social body by invigorating volunteer services in which officers and staff participate with passion to create jobs in private loan businesses and SMEs. He said he expects the competition in the banking industry to heat up this year, with four major banks competing now that Hana Bank has completed the takeover of Korea Exchange Bank as of the end of last year. OIn order for Shinhan to be a leader in the competition it ought to have strong jobsite operations so that the bank can actively cope with changes in commercial banking and take preemptive action against any crisis that looms ahead. "The bank head office and the jobsites should exchange communications as often as they can so that the bank's new policies drawn up based on jobsite reports can be rapidly delivered and reflected at the jobsites."
Suh also urged the head office to do its best to support branch operations nationwide in order to make them more dynamic and responsive to customers' financial needs.
He said he would listen to the voices from the branches across the nation to help their operations as much as possible.
The new president also said the bank should try to use change and reform as tools to grow with segregated banking strategies, putting the past paradigms aside as we are living in a hyper-competitive age in which top banks lose their positions often. "In this sense, we have made this year's strategic targets segregated growth and segregated capacity," he said.
"We have a proud tradition of being a step ahead of rival banks in paving the way for our banking operations, and with this tradition as a base we can be an explorer who is not afraid of challenges on our way toward achieving our big dream to be a top-class bank in Korea.
"Let's keep our eyes open for a new area to search for potential customers and secure future customers," the president said.
At the same time, Suh said, the bank will have to maintain its top health and soundness along with credit risk management systems and improve them where needed.
He said the bank has to strengthen its operations overseas in core regions and countries through segregated strategies to ensure success. The CEO touched on the inheritance of Shinhan Bank's corporate culture and its further development. "The Shinhan Way, representing the bank's spirit, has been made by those many small heroes working with passionate love for the bank in the past. The Shinhan Way will continue to be the standard for our value judgment and actions. It should be inside our minds all the time and in the growth of the bank's corporate culture,"' he said. The president said he would continue to send words of encouragement to those "small heroes" at the jobsites.
"In order to achieve our targets this year, we have to have strong teamwork bonded together with strong camaraderie. We have to do away with the walls in our minds and the walls of distrust so that we can be filled with the energy of communication and harmony. Nothing will stand in our way of marching toward our goals this year," CEO Suh said. nw