The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We expect WFG to report double-digit NP (excluding minority interests) growth for 1Q22. We draw attention to the high earnings portion its banking subsidiary occupies within the financial group.High
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at junsup@nhqv.com. -- Ed. SFG has announced plans for a treasury stock buyback & cancellation program, stoking expectations for a strengthening in shareholder’s return policies within the banking industry.Announces W150bn sto
Mirae Asset Global Investments announced on March 23 that it has joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), an initiative to measure global financial institutions’ carbon emissions.In accordance with the principles of the PCAF, Mirae Asset Global Investments will measure and dis
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at sh.kim@shinhan.com and mintz95@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Over-20% YoY growth continues for both sales and OP in 4Q21NICE Information Service posted strong earnings growth through 4Q21 with sales reaching KRW133bn (+2
The Bank for International Settlements announced on March 20 that South Korea’s credit-to-GDP gap amounted to 18.9 percent in the third quarter of last year, third-highest in the 43 countries it covered. According to the bank, South Korea’s household and corporate debts are increasing too fast and t
The author is a fixed income strategist of Shinhan Investment Corp. He can be reached at jk.ahn@shinhan.com. -- Ed. Base rate to remain unchanged in February despite anticipated upward revision of 2022 consumer price inflation forecast to mid/high-2% rangeBearish investor sentiment is keeping 3Y and
KB Kookmin Bank announced on Sept. 23 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on investment banking (IB) with Lloyd Banking Group of the United Kingdom.The MOU allows KB Kookmin Bank to jointly invest in real estate syndicated loans to be arranged by Lloyd Banking Group. The two compa
The author is a freelance journalist and Google News PR specialist. He can be reached at contact@sitetrail.com. -- Ed. Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen the sale of homes increase to the point of being labelled an all-out buying spree. The housing market is red-hot as limit
The Bank of Korea announced on June 22 that the private sector debt-to-nominal GDP ratio reached an all-time high of 216.3 percent at the end of March this year, with a year-on-year increase of 15.9 percentage points.The household debt-to-nominal GDP ratio increased 9.1 percentage points to 104.7 pe
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Lotte REIT completed the incorporation of a number of new assets, including a distribution center, in March. We expect the firm to continue adding new Lotte Group assets going forward. The compan
The Bank of Korea announced on May 13 that the volume of broad money (M2) increased 1.2 percent to 3,313.1 trillion won in March this year. It showed a year-on-year increase of 11 percent, the highest rate of increase since March 2009.The volume is continuing to increase rapidly. Specifically, it in
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Most of Korea’s large-sized construction players released their 1Q21 results last week. We expect 2Q21 to show similar earnings flows as those in 1Q21. Also believing that real estate policy mome
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at minjae.lee@nhqv.com. -- Ed. The real estate markets of the five major regional metropolitan cities and eight provinces in Korea are recovering in a stable manner. We draw attention to IS Dongseo, which has a high portion of
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. She can be reached at michelle.cho@nhqv.com. -- Ed. Admittedly, the emergence of Internet-only banks providing new financial services has had some impact on traditional banking players. But, a so-called catfish effect (a term describing how gro
NIM:Amid Covid-19, the BOK adjusted down the base rate by 50bp in March, undertaking an additional rate cut of 25bp in May. The resultant downward pressure on NIM is to remain in play through 1Q21.While market yields could change due to external variables, without an uptrend in the base rate, the po
The total national debt of South Korea amounted to 4,685.5 trillion won, more than 240 percent of its current GDP estimate for this year, in the first quarter of this year. Besides, South Korea’s rate of debt increase was the second-highest in the group of 28 OECD member countries. Experts point out
The Bank of Korea announced on Sept. 24 that the private-sector credit was equivalent to 206.2 percent of the nominal GDP of South Korea at the end of the second quarter of this year. The figure rose 5.2 percentage points in three months to an all-time high since records began in 1975.In the second
The authors are analysts of KB Securities. They can be reached at scyoo@kbfg.com and cygun101@kbfg.com, respectively. -- Ed. Deposit banks’ August loan balance at KRW1,909tn (+11.1% YoY)In August, deposit banks’ loan balance outpaced our projection, climbing to KRW1,909tn (+KRW17.7tn MoM/+11.1% YoY)
Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) announced on Sept. 3 a set of reform measures after an employee was found to have taken out 7.6 billion won worth of mortgage loans using the names of his relatives.The bank has already fired the employee and reported the case to police for a criminal investigation. Th
The authors are analysts of KB Securities. They can be reached at scyoo@kbfg.com and cygun101@kbfg.com, respectively. -- Ed. Deposit banks’ new transaction-based net interest spread at 1.88% and balance-based net interest spread at 2.07%For July, deposit banks’ new transaction-based NIS rose to 1.88