By Oh Young-jin
Hana Financial Chairman Kim Seung-yu knows there can be no backtracking in the move to buy a controlling stake in the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) from Lone Star.
For the leader of the smallest of the four local financial groups, it is a now-or-never chance to fulfill his dream of building up Hana to compete with KB, Shinhan and Woori.
With this do-or-die spirit, the 68-year-old rolled the dice, maybe for the last time, to push his luck once again.
In a rare move of defiance against the nation’s regulators, Kim made a statement that was widely taken as a threat, insisting the Financial Services Commission (FSC) approve the deal right away.
He added that unless prompt approval is granted, the deal could unravel.
Kim’s public call comes on the heels of a pressure tactic at the end of the last year, calling Hana employees from across the nation to demonstrate at the National Assembly as a blow for blow attempt to counter efforts by KEB unionists to thwart the deal.
Can Kim’s tactics apply enough pressure on FSC Chairman Kim Seok-dong?
An official at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the FSC’s executive arm led by Governor Kwon Hyouk-se, complained about Kim stalling at the expense of the FSS. It remains to be seen whether this is a temporary schism or if it cracks the regulators’ unified front.
By all indications, the Hana chairman is set to press on until he gets what he wants because if not, he would lose everything. Outside investors, heavily involved in Kim’s plan to finance the purchase from Lone Star are also moving in a tantalizing manner to keep pressure on Hana to get the deal approved as soon as possible. Lone Star is not ruling out the possibility of trying to ditch Hana for an alternative buyer.
But Kim has qualities that other leaders may find enviable. His tenacity has contributed to his meteoric rise from private lender to financial powerhouse.
For his Lone Star deal, he secretly met the Texas private equity fund’s Chairman John Grayken in November 2010 and jumpstarted the KEB bid, which was made public through a leak at the Wall Street Journal and the photo of the two shaking hands was made available by Hana.
He remained unfazed by the obstacles despite failing to complete the deal within six months as agreed. After an extension was agreed, he has, with a bit of hyperbole, single-handedly brought the deal this far. Can he push it in increments of inches to reach the finish line? This is the question asked as often by the FSC chief as of the Hana chairman.