Shinhan Bank President and CEO Jung Sang-hyuk announced the bank’s strategic goals for 2026 in the bank’s official kick-off meeting at the main auditorium of its headquarters in Jung-gu of Seoul on Jan. 2.
Jung emphasized playing fundamental roles as a bank, promoting innovation to boost the bank’s future competitiveness and making the bank more trusted by customers and society.
The motto for the year is “Finance for the Future! Excellence in Execution! Creating Change Together!”
In his 2026 New Year’s Address, Jung expressed gratitude for customers and reviewed the company’s performance over the past year. He also praised employees for their hard work in making many achievements in 2025 despite a tough environment and announced this year’s strategic goals.
With respect to 2026 business environments, Jung mentioned global economic uncertainties, increasing financial market volatility, shifting financial paradigms driven by technological advancements, and strengthening ethical responsibilities for financial institutions.
He emphasized the importance of expanding productive and inclusive finance, providing differentiated financial experiences and preparing for the future at a bank-wide level.
The lender has planned to prioritize the following three areas.
First of all, with a view to fulfilling its fundamental role as a financial institution, Shinhan Bank will expand the supply of funds to productive sectors to support Korea’s virtuous economic cycle. As a financial companion in everyday life, the bank will provide customer-centric solutions that customers can conveniently access whenever they need them.
Next, to bring innovation for future competitiveness, Shinhan Bank will proactively develop specialized solutions for key future customer groups such as seniors and foreign residents in Korea and enhance sales capabilities and resource efficiency through channel innovations such as AI channels.
Furthermore, by providing innovative solutions for future finance and promoting effective AI transformation (AX), Shinhan Bank will enable employees to focus on more valuable work and secure competitiveness that will make them part of the reason why customers want to use the bank.
Finally, to build a bank trusted by customers and society, Shinhan Bank will establish an internal control system which has been refined since the implementation of the accountability structure, throughout our business culture.
We will also strengthen our financial consumer protection system, which focuses on accident prevention, to establish a financial safety net that protects customer assets.
Jung brought up the principle of “Jinseongwiji” meaning “to do what must be done with sincerity.”
“Only when we understand our roles and play them with sincerity, Shinhan Bank will become a sustainable bank recognized by customers and society,” Jung said.
“Every member of Shinhan Bank will lead the way in this journey of changes, creating finance for the future together.”
Financial Support for Korean Firms in North America with Korea Technology Finance Corporation
Shinhan Bank announced on Jan. 12 that it signed an agreement with the Korea Technology Finance Corporation at the latter’s branch in Silicon Valley of the US on Jan. 8 to expand financial support for Korean companies expanding into North America.
With an expected increase in investment in the US by Korean companies following a Korea-US tariff agreement, the two organizations will promote productive financing for Korean companies with technological prowess and big growth potential.
Specifically, the two organizations will provide a total of 50 billion won in guarantees to Korean companies operating local subsidiaries in North America.
Funded by a special contribution from Shinhan Bank, the guarantee ratio will rise from 85% to 100%.
By providing 0.7 percentage point subsidies on guarantee fees for two years, the bank aims to alleviate financial burdens on Korean companies with relatively limited access to the US financial market.
Shinhan Bank maintains four networks in North America. They are Shinhan Bank America, Shinhan Bank’s New York Branch, Shinhan Canada, and Shinhan Mexico.
The Korean lender continues to expand its North American operations including the opening of a representative office in Georgia of the United States in November of 2025.
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