President Lee Dae-hoon of NH Bank explains the bank’s plan for the new year at a session of the HI Jobsite Management 2019 held at the NH Financial Group’s South Gyongsang Province Regional Headquarters in Changwon on Jan. 19. (Photo: NH Bank)

President Lee Dae-houn of NH Bank in his New Year’s speech, said the bank will try to boost its profit to the 1 trillion won level this year by focusing on key sectors to help beat the bank’s targets.

He said the bank’s competitive power hangs on how fast it can digitalize its operation, and the bank will spur its non-face businesses as the top digital expert bank.

President Lee kicked off his trip to the bank’s local branches around the country on Jan. 2, starting with a visit to the branch in Sejong City. A week later he went to other local areas, including Busan and Ulsan, to listen to what local customers want from the bank and reflect them in the bank’s operation.

At the South Gyeongsang Provincial Headquarters of the bank in Changwon, CEO Lee got reports on the headquarters’ operation and plan for this year, and ordered the headquarters officials and staff that they should stick to management that is centered on customers trust, wider communication, early preparations to take on this year’s business objectives, securing the plans for the future and turning out financial experts.

Seoul-based NongHyup Bank said it gained regulatory approval recently for operation of the Cambodian microfinance institution Samic that Nonghyup acquired in July 2018.

The Phnom Penh-based institution has been renamed NongHyup Finance Cambodia, following approval of the acquisition by the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and National Bank of Cambodia. In July, the NBC greenlighted NongHyup Bank’s takeover of 100 percent of shares of Samic.

It will begin operation in late August, according to the Korean agricultural bank wholly owned by Korea’s National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

This marked the Korean banking firm’s first overseas takeover and its sixth overseas business entity. Prior to the deal, the company had offices in Beijing and New Delhi, branches in New York and Hanoi, Vietnam, as well as a microfinancing institution in Myanmar. Korean banking giant Nonghyup (NH) Bank, which specializes in agricultural and commercial credit and banking services in South Korea, has joined the R3 Blockchain consortium.

The consortium researches and develops Blockchain solutions for financial services. The announcement indicates that with the help of R3, the bank intends to implement new technology and initiate new partnerships with Fintech corporation

“We will acquire technology by joining the consortium and apply it to various sectors of NH Nonghyup Bank such as the financial and economic sectors,” according to an official from Nonghyup Bank:

The connection is no less important for R3, after a number of bumps in their business plan over the past few months. The lawsuit with Ripple, which recently took a turn for the worse, has left some companies within the consortium feeling that the focus has changed.

However, the addition of Nonghyup Bank, as well as the recent announcement that Amazon Web Services hose R3 as its Blockchain access point, should prove positive for the company’s future growth.

NongHyup Financial Group is looking to either acquire a firm or set up a joint venture to launch investment banking operations in Indonesia next year, said Hong Jae-eun, the chief strategy officer of the agriculture financial holding company. He said the group is currently in talks with two potential companies in Indonesia, and it is seeking to acquire or establish a joint venture in investment banking with one of them.