KB, Shinhan thrive abroad as Hana, Woori lag behind

From left, KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Hwan-ju, Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk, Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-seoung, and Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan / Korea Times file

Korea's four major banks posted sharply diverging results for their overseas performances in 2025, with Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Bank reporting gains while Hana Bank and Woori Bank saw steep declines in profit, industry officials said Friday.

Combined net profits from the four lenders across their 37 overseas units totaled 833.4 billion won ($556 million) in 2025, up just 0.56 percent from a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's public disclosure system, DART.

By lender, Shinhan reported 586.9 billion won in net profit from its 10 overseas units, up 2.6 percent from a year earlier. KB Kookmin posted 116.3 billion won from five overseas units, posting a profit for the first time in four years.

In contrast, Hana saw net profit from its 11 overseas units drop 33 percent year on year to 86.8 billion won, while Woori reported a 79 percent plunge to 43.5 billion won from its 11 overseas operations.

The United States was a key driver of overseas earnings growth for Korean lenders.

From their U.S. operations, Shinhan, Hana and Woori reported net profit of 18.4 billion won, 15.7 billion won and 53.0 billion won, respectively, up 279 percent, 253 percent and 42 percent from the previous year.

Woori attributed the improvement to the expansion of its network in the country's southern region.

"Our U.S. unit improved its performance by expanding channels in Georgia and Texas," a Woori Bank official said. "In August last year, we became the first Korean bank to open a branch in Austin, providing financial services to Korean companies entering the southern U.S. market."

Various bank ATMs are operating at a building in Seoul, March 13, 2024. Newsis

However, the four lenders saw sharply divergent results in the Chinese market.

Hana and Woori posted losses as their China units swung into the red amid a prolonged property market slump and weakening domestic demand.

Hana reported a loss of 39.2 billion won, while Woori posted a 52.7 billion won loss after building up reserves in the fourth quarter at the request of local regulators.

"We set aside preemptive provisions on some loan assets amid a prolonged property downturn and slowing domestic demand in China," a Hana Bank official said.

By contrast, Shinhan and KB Kookmin remained profitable in China.

Shinhan's earnings from its China unit rose sharply to 18.2 billion won from 1.3 billion won a year earlier, supported by stronger foreign exchange and derivatives operations, while KB Kookmin posted 26 billion won in profit, up 13 percent from a year earlier.

Notably, KB Kookmin showed signs of improvement in Southeast Asia, where its loss-making Indonesia subsidiary, KB Bank — formerly KB Bukopin — entered a path to normalization after cutting its losses by more than 70 percent, narrowing its net loss to 68.3 billion won last year from 240.9 billion won in 2024.

Woori, however, fell into the red in Jakarta, as profits were dragged down by additional loan-loss provisions following a fraud incident last year involving its Indonesian subsidiary Woori Saudara Bank.

"In Indonesia, we set aside about $22 million in provisions in the fourth quarter, resulting in a net loss of around $14 million," the Woori official said. "We are focusing on reducing non-performing assets to stabilize the business, with an aim to improve asset quality across Southeast Asia."