Shinhan Financial Group on Thursday reported record first-quarter net profit of 1.62 trillion won ($1.1 billion), as stronger brokerage earnings boosted non-interest income.
Net profit rose 9 percent from a year earlier, marking the group’s highest quarterly result and surpassing its previous peak of 1.59 trillion won in the third quarter of 2022.
The gain was driven in part by Shinhan Securities, whose net profit jumped 167 percent to 288.4 billion won, supported by stronger equity markets.
Group non-interest income rose 26.5 percent to 1.19 trillion won, underpinned by broad-based growth in fee income and securities-related gains. Interest income increased 5.9 percent to 3.02 trillion won.
Shinhan Bank, the group’s flagship unit, also posted a record quarterly net profit of 1.16 trillion won, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier, largely driven by stronger interest income from corporate lending growth.
Profit from overseas operations rose 4.9 percent to 221.9 billion won, with Vietnam contributing the largest share at 58.1 billion won.
The group also unveiled an upgraded shareholder return plan after exceeding its previous 50 percent payout target ahead of schedule last year.
Under the new framework, Shinhan will link its shareholder return ratio to a formula based on return on equity and growth. The group is targeting an ROE of 10 percent, with the board set to review the framework annually. If Shinhan achieves 4 percent to 5 percent growth alongside a 10 percent ROE, the formula implies a shareholder return ratio of 50 percent to 60 percent.
Shinhan Financial’s common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 13.19 percent at the end of March, while ROE came in at 9.1 percent last year.
By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)
