President Lee Kwang-goo of Woori Bank.(Photo:Woori Bank)

President Lee Kwang-goo of Woori Bank said all employees should do his or her best for the to help expand net profit to 1.2 trillion won in the new year to boost the value of the bank so it can be privatized as early as possible. He made the remarks at the First-Half Management Strategy Meeting for 2016 on Jan. 23 at Kintex in Ilsan, just outside of Seoul, with some 1,500 officers and staff of Woori Financial Group on hand.

The new target profit is about 20 percent higher than last year’s, which is likely to come in around 1 trillion won.

Among the CEO’s 10-point management strategy for the new year were: leading rivals in all sectors in the banking industry; expanding non-interest income; increasing the number of well-healed customers and expand deposits; reducing the non-performing assets; exploring new markets; boosting overseas operations; and pushing a personnel system based on performance.

He stressed that the bank should most of all extend its lead of Weebee Bank, which operates in the Fintech area, and push the global financial network to total 300 branches from last year’s 200. CEO also called for the bank to dominate the retirement fund market.

Lee said they ought to manage in a profit-oriented operation, keeping a close eye on any operational losses, because of a worsening banking environment due to a U.S. interest rate hike and a slowdown in emerging economies. "Everyone should come up with creative ideas to help the bank overcome crises and create synergy from cooperation among the different operation units in the bank,” he said. 

Woori Bank is Korea's first bank to make a financial transaction with an Islamic bank, paving the way for local banks to earn interest gains from such deals with banks in Muslim states.

"As they expect higher interest gains from deals with banks in Islamic countries compared to deals here, Korean banks have reasons to make transactions with their Islamic counterparts as part of their income diversification strategy," a bank official said Tuesday.

On Monday, Woori Bank extended $10 million in loans to the Qatar Islamic Bank through its Bahrain branch, the first of its kind for the state-owned bank, it said in a statement.

"The financial deal with Qatar Islamic Bank is aimed at securing new income sources overseas and cushioning the impact of market volatility resulting from a series of U.S. rate hikes expected throughout this year on the domestic market," the official said.

Woori Bank is planning to expand financial deals with Islamic banks and then start a business in the long-term, extending its approach to Islamic countries such as Bangladesh, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia, he said.

Cebu-based Vicsal Development Corporation (Vicsal) recently entered into an investment agreement with Woori Bank of South Korea, enabling a strategic alliance between the Korean bank and the Vicsal subsidiary Wealth Development Bank Corporation (WealthBank), one of the country’s thrift banks. The joint venture combines the global and technical resources of Woori Bank and the highly regarded Philippine regional business conglomerate.

“It is a strategic initiative in response to the liberalization of the country’s banking sector,” noted WealthBank Chairman Dr. Edward Gaisano, who added that the deal is expected to increase the bank’s net worth by threefold, strengthen its balance sheet, and deepen its market reach and product offerings.

WealthBank is one of the country’s fastest growing independent thrift banks, expanding from just one branch in 2002 to 16 across the country today. The bank has close to P7 billion in assets. Under the partnership, WealthBank will leverage on the vast world-class facilities and expertise of Woori Bank as well as the opportunity to tap into the 1.2 million Korean tourists who visit the Philippines yearly, and the 100,000-strong Korean expatriate community in the country.