Hana Financial Group achieved a consolidated net income of 1.1277 trillion won in the first quarter of this year, surpassing market expectations. This is a 9.1% increase compared to a year ago and marks the highest first-quarter performance since the consolidation of Hana and Korea Exchange Bank. The core affiliate, Hana Bank, recorded a net income of 992.9 billion won, up 17.8% from the same period last year.
Hana Financial Group announced this through corporate disclosure on the 25th. The interest income for Hana Financial Group in the first quarter was 2.2728 trillion won, and the fee income was 521.6 billion won. In particular, fee income increased by 1.7% compared to a year earlier.
A Hana Financial representative noted, “The increase in foreign exchange fees through the expansion of import and export customers, the expansion of the accumulated fee base such as operating leases and retirement pensions, and the increase in credit card fees due to the rise in overseas spending have improved fee income.
Key profitability indicators essential for corporate value enhancement also improved. The return on equity (ROE) increased by 0.18 percentage points to 10.62% compared to the same period last year. The return on assets (ROA) rose by 0.02 percentage points to 0.72%. The estimated BIS ratio recorded an increase of 0.40 percentage points to 15.68%.
As of the end of the first quarter, the common equity tier 1 capital ratio (CET1) rose by 0.34 percentage points to 13.23%. A representative from Hana Financial Group stated, “CET1, which is the basis for shareholder return, is being managed stably within the target range of 13.0% to 13.5%,” and added, “This is the result of efforts in enterprise-wide risk-weighted asset (RWA) management and asset growth based on the risk-weighted asset return (RoRWA).
Hana Financial will implement an active dividend policy in line with the improved performance. The group’s board of directors has decided on a quarterly cash dividend of 906 won per share. In order to increase the predictability of dividends and strengthen shareholder returns, Hana Financial Group has fixed the total annual cash dividend amount at 1 trillion won and will implement equal quarterly dividends. Hana Financial Group plans to complete a stock buyback program worth 400 billion won ahead of schedule in the first half of the year.
Hana Bank also recorded its highest quarterly performance ever. Hana Bank's net income was 992.9 billion won, up 17.8% compared to a year earlier. Interest income totaled 1.9359 trillion won, while fee income was recorded at 249.6 billion won. Non-interest income increased by 41.9% year-on-year to 330 billion won.
A representative from Hana Bank explained, “The bank's core businesses such as corporate banking, foreign exchange, and asset management have synergized, resulting in a significant increase in non-interest income.” Hana Bank’s net interest margin (NIM) for the first quarter was 1.48%, the ratio of non-performing loans was 0.29%, and the delinquency rate was 0.32%.
In the case of non-banking affiliates, Hana Securities achieved a net income of 75.3 billion won in the first quarter, and Hana Card recorded 54.6 billion won in net income. Hana Capital reported a net income of 31.5 billion won, Hana Asset Trust recorded 17.6 billion won, and Hana Life Insurance reported 12.1 billion won in net income, respectively.
A representative from Hana Financial Group remarked on the strong performance in the first quarter, stating, “Although uncertainties in the domestic and foreign financial markets have increased, we achieved results that exceeded market expectations thanks to the expansion of our customer base, diversification of our revenue portfolio, and enterprise-wide cost efficiency.