South Korea

In May 2022, when South Korea’s startup accelerator D.Camp opened its first office in the port city of Busan, Kam-Chan Ahn topped the list of VIP invitees. After all, as chief executive of regional powerhouse Busan Bank, Ahn’s leadership team has carved out quite a name for itself among innovators in Korea’s second-biggest city.

The unmatched global network that Citi brings to South Korea is offering local clients ready access to international markets. The bank also excels at providing multinational corporations operating in Korea with access to the local market, making it an obvious choice for best international bank in the country.

Like South Korea’s economy, KB Financial Group has a knack for coming through a crisis looking relatively unscathed.

KB Kookmin Bank has boosted its support for small and medium-sized enterprises at incredible speed in recent years, with a tilt towards South Korea’s blossoming technology sector.

It is said that the true test of leadership is a crisis – and KakaoBank’s top executives were certainly put to the test on several occasions during the awards period.

Most banks pledging to reduce carbon footprints tend to target the end of the decade. Few can claim to have as ambitious a plan to get there as Hana Bank, which is carrying out a 30/60 plan.

In August 2022, Woori Bank’s parent company, Woori Financial Group, put the law of big numbers to great use. Its plan to offer financial assistance worth W23 trillion ($17 billion) to socially vulnerable groups over three years garnered banner headlines.

Mirae Asset Securities

With its razor-sharp focus on SMEs, technology firms and ESG, Busan Bank has come a long way in the last 50 years, and is moving in the right direction.