Shinhan Financial Group cemented its position as Korea’s leading global lender, with record earnings from overseas operations and expanding non-interest income, lifting the group to an all-time high in annual profit.
The group said Thursday that cumulative net profit reached 4.97 trillion won ($3.4 billion) in 2025, up 11.7 percent from a year earlier and marking a second consecutive record year.
Noninterest income drove the expansion, rising 14.4 percent to 3.74 trillion won. The securities brokerage unit tallied notable gains, with net profit surging 113 percent to 381.6 billion won on robust capital markets activity.
Interest income also rose 2.6 percent to 11.69 trillion won.
Profitability and capital strength improved, with return-on-equity climbing 0.7 percentage points to 9.1 percent and the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio rising to 13.33 percent.
Overseas operations continued to gain traction, with earnings from global businesses reaching 824.3 billion won, up 8 percent from a year earlier. On a pretax basis, overseas profit totaled 1.09 trillion won, making Shinhan the first Korean financial group to surpass the 1 trillion won mark in global earnings.
“Record results were posted in key markets, driven by localization efforts that expanded the local customer base,” the company said. Vietnam contributed 272 billion won in profit, while Japan generated 179.2 billion won. Global operations accounted for 16.6 percent of groupwide profit.
Shinhan Bank delivered the largest contribution among subsidiaries, posting net income of 3.77 trillion won, up 2.1 percent and extending its record streak for a second straight year.
The group also stepped up shareholder returns, lifting its payout ratio above 50 percent for the first time. Total shareholder returns reached 2.5 trillion won, comprising 1.25 trillion won in dividends and an equal amount in share buybacks, bringing the payout ratio to 50.2 percent, up 10 percentage points from a year earlier.
Shinhan has already begun boosting returns this year, completing a 200 billion won share buyback in January and planning an additional 500 billion won purchase by July.
jwc@heraldcorp.com
