[미디어펜=백지현 기자]KB Financial Group announced that last year’s annual net income recorded 3,4552 trillion won. Amidst the continued low interest rate and low growth last year, a 4.3% increase from the previous year (3,311.8 billion won) despite the difficult business environment such as the Corona 19 incident was a key factor in the increase in core profits and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
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| ▲ Yoon Jong-kyu, chairman of KB Financial Group./Photo = Courtesy of KB Financial Group | ||
However, net profit in the fourth quarter reached only 577.3 billion won, a sharp decrease from the previous quarter (1,166.6 billion won). This is due to the large amount of hoped retirement costs and preemptive loan loss provisions related to Corona 19. An official from KB Financial explained that “the base effect of Prudential Life Insurance’s bargain purchase gains occurred in the last quarter,” and “similar to current standards.”
Last year, the ordinary return on equity (ROE) was 10.17%, excluding specific factors such as the desired retirement cost and additional provisions related to corona. The non-banking division’s share of ordinary net income recorded 34.3%.
In 4Q, the group and banks’ net interest margin (NIM) improved by 2bp QoQ due to the increase in core deposits, even though the asset yield continued to decline due to falling interest rates.
The group explained that the group’s expected retirement factor for the fourth quarter was a total of 954 people, which increased significantly compared to the previous year, which resulted in about 249 billion won after tax, and the impact on net profit will be limited if Prudential Life Insurance’s gain from a bargain purchase of about 145 billion won is considered. did.
At the end of last year, the group’s total assets were estimated at 61 trillion won. The growth of loans and the addition of Prudential Life Insurance to affiliates increased by 17.8% (92 trillion won) compared to the end of the previous year (51.8 trillion won). Total assets, including managerial assets, increased 19.1% from the end of last year (78.98 trillion won).
Last year, the dividend payout ratio was 20.5% and the dividend per share was 1770 won. A KB Financial official explained, “As a result of the need for conservative capital management and real economy support in preparation for the possibility of an economic downturn due to the prolonged Corona 19 and internal and external uncertainties, last year’s dividend was temporarily reduced compared to the previous year.”
He added, “We plan to always take the lead in implementing various shareholder return policies that meet the global level, such as dividend expansion and treasury stock purchase, based on a solid profit body and the highest level of capital adequacy in the financial sector.”