SEOUL– Major South Korean financial holding firm Hana Financial Group Inc. said Thursday its net profit rose 2.83 percent on-year to an all-time high in 2022 mainly due to increased interest income.
Net income came to 3.63 trillion won (US$2.88 billion) last year, compared with 3.53 trillion won a year earlier, the financial group said in a regulatory filing.
The group attributed the increased profit to a sharp rise in interest income amid South Korea’s rate hikes to tame inflation.
The group’s interest income stood at 8.92 trillion won in 2022, up 20 percent from the previous year.
Its net interest margin, or the difference between interest paid and interest received, stood at 1.96 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, up from 1.71 percent during the same period of 2021.
In January, the Bank of Korea raised the benchmark seven-day repo rate from 3.25 percent to 3.5 percent, the seventh straight rate increase since April last year and the highest level since 2008.
Hana Financial said its commission income shrank 6.4 percent on-year to 1.74 trillion won last year.
The group’s flagship Hana Bank saw its net profit rise 23.3 percent to 3.17 trillion won last year.
Shares in Hana Financial Group closed down 2.15 percent at 47,850 won on the Seoul bourse Thursday, underperforming the broader KOSPI’s 0.09 percent drop.
Source: Yonhap News Agency