Hana Bank accounted for 13% of system loans and 15% of system deposits in South Korea by the end of 2023. The bank enjoys a strong domestic franchise, particularly in corporate banking, which has driven a sustained improvement in profitability despite the challenging economic backdrop.
AfE 2024
The bank experienced moderate loan growth in 2023 while keeping costs contained. Corporate loans outstanding grew by W17.2 trillion ($12.4 billion) in 2023, reflecting W6.2 trillion year-on-year growth in large corporate loans and W12.5 trillion year-on-year growth in small and medium-sized enterprise loans.
The bank has shifted its lending business towards more secured and granular loans, and the portfolio has a high proportion of secured local-currency loans (80%). The ratio of non-performing loans stands at 0.4% with a common equity tier-1 ratio of 15.6%.
Like most banks in Korea, Hana has faced the impact of a sharp real-estate downturn in the country, but analysts at Fitch believe that the property downturn will not add much asset-quality pressure on banks.
On the retail side, Hana has been one of the first to compensate retail investors for losses on equity-linked securities following widespread mis-selling.
The bank signed an agreement with US-based digital asset custody firm BitGo in 2023 to jointly launch a crypto-asset custody business in the second half of 2024. It also signed a partnership with the Saudi Export-Import Bank in 2023 to expand its presence in the Middle East, with the aim of supporting Korean companies in the region.