Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo of KB Financial Group. (Photo: KB Financial Group)

KB Financial Group remained in the “3 trillion won club” for net income for three consecutive years in 2019. The group announced on Feb. 6 that it posted 3,311.8 billion won in net income last year, including 534.7 billion won in net profit in the fourth quarter of last year.

KB Financial Group recorded net income of 3,311.4 billion won in 2017 and 3,061.2 billion won in 2018. “Increases in the interest income of KB Kookmin Bank and commissions of KB Kookmin Card drove up the KB Financial Group’s net income 8.2 percent to 3,311.8 billion won in 2019 from 3,061.2 billion won in 2018,” a KB Financial Group official explained.

However, its fourth quarter net profit fell 43.1 percent to 940.3 billion won from the previous quarter due to voluntary retirement expenses at KB Kookmin Bank (125.4 billion won after tax) and a poor performance in the insurance business.

Nevertheless, its fourth-quarter net profit rose compared to 192.4 billion won in the same period last year when the S&T Division suffered big loss due to increased financial market volatility.

KB Financial Group’s return on equity (ROE) in 2019 stood at 8.93 percent, up 0.11 percentage points from a year before thanks to the solid growth of interest income and net commission income.

Its current ROE excluding one-off factors such as voluntary retirement expenses remained 9.51 percent maintaining solid fundamentals despite an economic slowdown.

Last year, KB Financial Group’s total assets amounted to 518.6 trillion won and to 789.6 trillion won, including assets under management (AUM). Its total assets increased 8.1 percent compared to 479.6 trillion won at the end of 2019. Most of them were mainly loans and investment financial assets.

Moreover, the group’s total assets including assets under management also swelled by 7.9 percent compared to 731.8 trillion won at the end of 2019. Its net interest income rose 3.3 percent on year to 9,196.8 billion won, while net commission income jumped 5.0 percent year on year to 2,355 billion won.

Other operating income recorded a loss of 119.9 billion won.

By group affiliates, KB Kookmin Bank’s net profit in 2019 stood at 2,439.1 billion won, up 8 percent year on year, thanks to the solid growth of interest income.

Nevertheless, its fourth-quarter net profit hit 432.4 billion won due to an increase in one-off expenses such as expenses for voluntary retirements (125.4 billion won after tax) and performance-based bonuses (45.4 billion won after tax).

KB Securities net profit soared 44.2 percent year on year to 257.9 billion won on the back of improved S&T operating profits and a spike in IB earnings. Its fourth-quarter net income shrank by 22.6 billion won to 33.2 billion won.

KB Non-Life Insurance’s net profit fell 10.7 percent year on year to 234.3 billion won die to a rise in auto and long-term insurance loss ratios and operation expenses for new contracts. KB Kookmin Card’s net income grew by 10.4 percent to 316.5 billion won from a year earlier.

In the meantime, KB Financial Group ranked first in the Bloomberg Syndicated Loan League Table for four consecutive years by coming in first in 2019.

The KB Financial Group recorded US$13.029 billion (about 15 trillion won) in a total of 74 cases in 2019.

The amount represented a market share of 27.5 percent. After taking first place in 2016, the group has retained its first place for four consecutive years, solidifying its position as the top player in the domestic IB sector.