First-quarter earnings reports show Shinhan Financial Group cementing its lead in the local banking sector, with a 30 percent increase in net profits.

The group’s net profit in the January-March period stood at 771.4 billion won ($670.7 million), up 30.3 percent from the same period last year, the company said in a regulatory filing last week. From three months earlier, the tally marked a spike of 90.9 percent. 


“Improvements in banking, with a pickup in the net interest margin, had a big role (in the profit growth),” the Seoul-based group said in a press statement.

Shinhan Bank, with 574.9 billion won in net profits, accounted for nearly 70 percent of the group’s total income, the filing shows. The bank’s earnings improved 47.4 percent from a year ago.

Net interest margin, which declined from 1.58 percent in the first quarter of 2015 to 1.46 percent in the final quarter, rebounded to 1.48 percent in the first quarter of 2016. The group’s overall interest income rose by 5 percent to 1.72 trillion won.

Shinhan’s major competitors in commercial banking all reported improvements in earnings. But their tally fell far short of that of Shinhan, with KB Financial Group reporting a net profit of 545 billion won, Woori Bank 443.3 billion and Hana Financial Group 387.2 billion won. 

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)