President Kim Won-kyu of NH Investment and Securities Co.

NH Investment & Securities Co. launched its “QV ISA” on March 14, and the number of customers has been rising faster than expected.

The new financial product pays 5 percent annual interest with a repurchase agreement given to customers with a maturity of three months. The maximum amount for individual customers is 5 million won on a first-come first- served basis within the maximum funds allocated for the product at 50 billion won.

QV ISA has two types, one for trust and the other for leaving the management of the fund up to the company. Customers should make their choices among the products to be managed by the companies, such as banks and securities firms, while the other type includes RP, ELS, regular deposits and funds, among others. A regular deposit account is allowed to hold all kinds of capital from funds borrowed from banks, savings banks and foreign currencies including the Yuan.

NH Investment & Securities’ profit from investment banking surpassed the 100-billion-won mark this year, becoming the nation’s first securities firm to achieve profit higher than 100 billion won in a year through an investment banking business.

This achievement is remarkable, considering that NH Investment & Securities’ investment banking profit had averaged at around 10 billion won to 30 billion won and stood at 27.2 billion won last year.

According to industry sources, NH Investment & Securities is estimated to have chalked up an ordinary profit of 110 billion won in its investment banking unit so far this year, and is likely to reach 120 billion won by the end of the year.

NH Investment & Securities’ investment banking sales revenue is expected to be around 300 billion won this year, a volume large enough to emulate the overall annual sales of a major securities firm in Korea.

Key factors behind NH’s high performance include the fact that it actively made an investment of its own capital. Unlike most domestic securities firms whose investment banking business has focused on arranging transactions to earn commissions, NH was active in investing in stocks and bonds by using its own capital.

The company also signed an MOU with Zhaoshang Securities in Shenhzen, China, on the exchange of information and cooperation as part of the company’s strategy to expand its overseas operations by signing MOUs with key global securities and investment firms.

NH Investment and Securities focused on “Selection and Concentration” as the key factors in its management strategy last year, as pushed by President Kim Won-kyu. His management plan can be summarized in one word, “Outbound,” since he took over as the top position of NH Investment and Securities in 2013. The company was ultimately born out of the merger of Woori Investment and Securities and NH Securities in 2014.

Soon after taking over the new securities firm, he streamlined the company’s overseas network, with its operations in Hong Kong and Indonesia as launching points.

The local subsidiary in Hong Kong is the one overseas unit that the company worked the hardest on. The Hong Kong subsidiary won a license from the local financial authority to engage in syndication loans, and the Hong Kong subsidiary increased its capital to $220 million. The Hong Kong subsidiary has been able to set up its base to engage in investment banking and corporate loan activities to make its operational portfolio balanced so that the restructured operation will pay off its results this year.

The company has also been working hard on its Indonesian subsidiary. The company went along with the 80 percent boost in the capital of its joint venture NH-Konlindo Securities to expand its business areas to underwriting institutional bond issuances and online businesses to establish its base as an integrated securities firm with diverse operations providing diverse financial services.

Actor Ha Jeong-woo in an ad for “QV ISA,” an ISA account, introduced by NH I&S.(Photos:NH I&S)