Great Synergy Between Hana and KEB

President Kim Jung-tae of Hana Bank said he will try to catch two rabbits at the same time this year ― one of them being profit and the other one being risk prevention.

"Stable growth through managing the two factors well is the target of the bank this year. In order to achieve the objectives, the bank will go all out to find new growth areas such as crossover sales in its operations in order to diversify profit sources and at the same time deepen its relationships with customers," Kim said.
The bank expects such moves will help satisfy its requirement to meet the capital ratio of BIS and loans and other rules including deposit ratio.
Risk management gives priority to preventing risks through separate management according to sector including industry, customer, and product before default occurs.
In addition, the bank will revamp its overseas operations and take on new businesses. It will also focus on improving banking services and strengthening its operational structure to make the bank stronger in terms of personnel and organization under the New Year slogan "Healthy Hana, Happy Together."
The slogan means the development of a healthy corporate culture and healthy society through social contributions and an improvement of the rights of financial consumers.
The bank's four major objectives include expanding its operational base, strengthening its core capacity, strengthening its profit base, and the preclusion of risks.
The bank wants to expand its customer base as it did last year and develop new products and services through various online financial channels including smart-phone banking.
In order to strengthen its core capacity, officers will visit banking outlets including branches to focus its banking operations on jobsites where actual banking transactions occur and also create education programs for staff that include the experience of working on the front line of banking to enhance their skills.
In order to solidify the banking profit base, deposits with low interest rates will be sought and on the credit side the bank will increase long-term corporate loans and long-term housing mortgage loans to improve the makeup of its asset portfolio, the CEO said.
In order to take care of mounting housing loans, the length of mortgages will be extended to avoid defaults. The bank will periodically draw up road maps to control various key areas of its operation including the loan-deposit ratio, liquidity ratio, and health of its assets, Kim said.
In the meantime, Vice Chairman Yun Yong-ro of Hana Financial Group, who formerly headed the Industrial Bank of Korea as president, said officers and staff of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) should not worry about keeping their jobs when the bank is taken over by Hana Financial. Vice Chairman Yun joined Hana Financial in March 2011 and is expected to run KEB as president when Hana completes its takeover sometime this year.
Yun said KEB employees will not be discriminated against and will be getting the same treatment as employees of Hana Bank regarding personnel matters.
He said he will work for the interest of KEB employees when he takes over the helm of the bank as well as to make the bank more competitive at home and abroad in its operations.
Yun also noted that Hana Bank and KEB each have strong points, which can create synergy and improve their shortcomings if properly managed.
He will also try to recover KEB's strength as a foreign exchange bank with extensive ties to overseas banks, which was damaged when it was taken over by foreign bank, let alone Lone Star Fund, a hedge fund not used to running a bank. KEB has many corporate customers including large conglomerates with extensive overseas operations, requiring foreign exchange funds. nw

Chairman Kim Seung-yu of Hana Financial Group.

A view of the Hana Bank head office building in Euljiro in downtown Seoul.