Chairman Kim Gwang-soo of NH Financial Group. (Photo: NHFG)

NH Financial Group announced recently that its net profit for the first three quarters this year amounted to 1.393,7 trillion won, up 29.4 percent from the year earlier.

The financial group attributed the outstanding accumulated net profit improved results from NH Bank’s securities transaction, reductions in the loan loss provision and the outstanding results from its securities firm’s IB sector.

The accumulated interest earnings up until the third quarter came to 5.989,5 trillion won, up slightly YoY with NIM falling 8bp from the same period last year standing at 1.79 percent. However, NH Bank interest earnings continue to rise to boost the financial group’s net profit from the Jan.-Sept. period.

The fee income at 796.7 billion won during the first nine months this year, fell 8.6 percent YoY, due mainly to the reductions in the securities transactions and fees in the trust accounts while the expenses for widening the insurance firms’ guarantee type rose.

Total assets accounted for 445.6 trillion won, up 6.9 percent from the end of the preceding year while ROE stood at 9.14 percent and ROA at 0.43 percent.

Net profit of NH Bank, the group’s major affiliate, came to 1.922 trillion won during the first three quarters of the year, up 27.6 percent. The operating profit during same period rose 23.9 percent, due to boosts in interest and non-interest income and the reductions on the loan loss provision.

NH Investment & Securities, currently ranked No. 2 among peers in terms of net assets, posted third-quarter net profit of 80.7 billion won ($72 million), a 25 percent loss on-quarter. This is also 23 percent less compared to the same period last year.

Officials of the financial group said we will have to continue to ighten the management with domestic and overseas economic factors don’t look promising throughout this year and continue to provide the types financial services that are helpful to the growth of farms and farm villages around the country.

NongHyup Financial Group has opened the industry's biggest innovation campus that encompasses research and development, and fintech startup centers, the holding company said.

The fintech center will house more than 30 startups that will develop and commercialize their own business ideas, using technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analysis and blockchain.

They will also work with NongHyup Bank to connect with its interface to create low-cost mobile financial services.

The innovation campus will be the “control tower” of NongHyup Financial and its subsidiaries’ digital transformation, Chairman Kim Gwang-soo said at an opening event in Yangjae, Seoul.

It will provide a full service to startups to attract investors for their projects.

“This will be the center of our financial ecosystem that will help digitally transform NongHyup and create startup unicorns,” Kim said. The platform will be accessible for use by all Nonghyup subsidiaries so they can create and provide distinct services tailored to customers' needs, it added.

Chief Digital Officer Nam Yeong-su said it was important to make "changes" to its organization prior to pursuing future digital projects for the next generation of customers.

The chairman said NongHyup’s center will help make that happen and find new growth opportunities both at home and abroad, especially in Southeast Asia.

This is in line with efforts to achieve the group’s annual profit target of 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) by the end of the year.