Hana Financial Group might submit a preliminary request for approval to the Financial Service Commission as early as Jan. 15 or 16 to speed up the merger of Hana and Korean Exchange banks by March 1.
The group decided to submit the application earlier than expected, with FSC Chairman Shin Je-yoon saying recently that the financial group doesn’t need to have an agreement from the two banks’ labor unions for the merger before submitting the application. The decision for early submission would make the merger possible before March 1, the targeted date, financial sources said.
The financial group said it will hand in the application as early as Jan. 13 with the group changing its plan to secure the agreement from the union before the submission of application.
The group also plans to continue its talks with the union, with President Kim Han-jo of Korea Exchange Bank set to meet with the bank’s union head on Jan. 14, while Hana Bank told its union that it wants to wrap up its talks by the end of this month, meaning that it will submit the merger application while talks with the union are being held.
The bank is speeding up the application as it is confident the FSC would issue the approval without the agreement from the union. The bank was encouraged by FSC chairman Shin’s answer to a question by a legislator on the issue of whether the FSC can issue its approval on the merger application without the union’s agreement. During a recent session of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly, Shin said he cannot rule out the eventuality.
Financial officials said if genuine meetings are held on the merger with the unions of the two banks, they might go ahead and accept the merger application. The FSC may be able to issue preliminary approval on the merger on Jan. 28, during a scheduled meeting. Hana Financial will go ahead and hold a shareholders’ meeting to decide on the merger plan and then the group will submit the official application for the merger for approval to FSC so that the merger can be announced on March 1 as scheduled.
A factor that can change the schedule is the objection of the KEB union. The union said it is doubtful whether the talks on the merger with them can be finished within this month as it is impossible to submit the preliminary approval for the merger or call for a shareholders’ meeting before a new agreement with the union is completed.
The union of KEB has made it clear it is against the submission of the application for approval because it would hamper the sincere atmosphere of the bank’s talks with the union on the merger.
Meanwhile, some legislators were opposed to the FSC chairman’s possible move to grant the FSC approval on the merger application submitted by Hana Financial Group without complete agreements from the banks’ unions. They said the FSC is putting unreasonable pressure on the unions, showing that FSC approval is not easily granted. Chairman Kim Jung-tae of Hana Financial said the group will try to get the approval of the banks’ two unions before submitting the merger application.
“The KEB union is part of the folks that should be with the newly merged bank after the merger, and he cannot go for the submission of the application for the FSC approval before the completing talks with the unions,” the chairman said.
