Amid economic uncertainties and strong changes expected in the financial industry in 2022, Son Byung-hwan, Chairman of NH NongHyup Financial Group, brought up six important points in his New Year’s message on which NH NongHyup Financial Group should focus in 2022.
First, Chairman Son asked employees to promote digital business from customers’ point of view. “We have to recognize that the essence of finance lies with customers and promote differentiated digital businesses,” Son said.
“Please always understand customers’ changes accurately and make efforts to reflect customer needs so that financial services can pervade customers’ daily lives.”
NH NongHyup Financial Group needs to drastically change business models and business operation methods if customers don’t want them, according to Chairman Son.
“We have to bring innovation to the development of goods and services and even to our internal system or working methods,” he added.
Second, Chairman Son stressed efforts to internalize ESG management. “Based on the ESG management system established last year, ESG management should be further advanced and actively reflected in overall management in 2022,” he said.
In particular, in order to establish a climate change response system, we will have to focus all our capabilities on achieving carbon neutrality and establishing a climate risk management system.
NH NongHyup Financial Group will expand the development of financial products to implement carbon neutrality, invest in the carbon emission reduction sector, and overhaul systems in all business sectors related to carbon emission reduction.
“Based on the perception that NH NongHyup Financial Group is an ESG pioneer, please spread the value of NongHyup Financial Group’s existence that contributes to the people, local communities, and the environment,” Chairman Son added.
Third, the head of NH NongHyup Financial Group called on employees to make efforts to stably develop global businesses and strengthen their capabilities.
“In overseas countries that we have entered, we need to improve our business model to boost profitability, and new stores should try to stabilize their businesses in their early stages,” Chairman Son said.
“In addition to preparing to open branches in Hong Kong and Beijing this year, please continue to open branches in Sydney, Australia; Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam; and Noida of India.
“In particular, all affiliates should pay attention to fostering global experts who have both excellent work skills and communication capabilities to secure global human resources.”
Fourth, Chairman Son zoomed in on strengthening the financial group’s capabilities for customer asset management and retirement finance.
“The asset management business is a key business in the future to secure lifelong customers, and it is growing in importance with the aging of our society,” he continued. “Stable and high-quality asset management services hold the key to making NH NongHyup Financial Group a reliable financial company that customers can trust.”
NH NongHyup Financial Group should provide differentiated everyday life finance services by continuously upgrading NH NongHyup Bank’s non-face-to-face personal asset management services and NH Investment and Securities’ digital asset management services according to the chairman.
“Moreover, efforts should be made to enhance the professional asset management and retirement consulting capabilities of the NH All100 Asset Management Center, a banking-specialized store, and the “Era of 100-Year-Olds” Securities Research Institute.
Chairman Son picked up preparations for the future as the fifth keyword.
“The financial industry will become more dynamic and go through bigger and faster changes than before, such as the collapse of business boundaries convergence,” Chairman Son explained.
“Now, many industrial experts regard the ability to understand and respond to changes in business environments such as platform ecosystem, universal banking, the metaverse, and the activation of non-fungible token (NFTs) as companies’ competitiveness.
Finally, Chairman Son paid attention to the original roles of NH NongHyup Financial as a profit-generating center.
“In 2022, NH NongHyup Financial Group will receive 1.1 trillion won in investment funds from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation for the first time since its launch,” he said.
“As a result, NH NongHyup Financial Group affiliates have laid the groundwork for sharpening their market competitiveness through capital expansion. We have to make endeavors to use the investment funds better for our group’s sustainable growth.”
