Global Businesses on Track
Korea’s four major commercial banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, KEB Hana and Woori -- are expected to earn more 1 trillion won (US$ 833 billion) in net profit from their global operations.
The National Association of Banks said the global net profit of the banking industry is expected to reach a record high in 2018.
Domestic banks are continuing to expand their global sales networks, which are concentrated in Asia. As of the end of last year, the number of overseas branches of domestic banks was 185. Domestic banks' overseas networks also include the 587 branches operated by their subsidiaries incorporated locally.
The global net profit of the four major banks recorded 527.2 billion won (US$ 439 million won) in the first half of this year. For the whole of 2018, their global net profit is expected to exceed one trillion won (US$ 833 billion) for the first time.
The global net profit of the four major commercial banks in the 2015-2017 period averaged 765.8 billion won (US$ 638 million) a year, accounting for 14.2% of their total annual average net profit of 5.4 trillion won (US$ 4.5 billion). In particular, the global net profit grew 11.8% a year on average.