Woori Bank to Invest 2.4 Trillion KRW in IB Expansion for 'New Growth and New Deal'

IB Group Total Assets 24 Trillion KRW
Diversification of Investment Assets Including PE, VC, Infrastructure, and PF
Expansion of ESG Investment and Financing

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Woori Bank's IB Group will execute a total of 2.4 trillion KRW in new investments this year. The group has also set a performance goal to achieve a net profit of 500 billion KRW within the IB Group alone.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 10th, Woori Bank's IB Group recorded total assets of 24 trillion KRW as of the end of 2021. This includes 19 trillion KRW domestically and 5 trillion KRW globally. Of the 19 trillion KRW domestic assets, investment assets accounted for 10 trillion KRW and loan assets for 9 trillion KRW. In addition, Woori Bank's IB Group plans to execute 2.4 trillion KRW in new investments this year.

Lee Moon-seok, Head of Woori Bank IB Group (Vice President), stated, "Woori Bank IB Group has set an internal target to achieve a net profit of 500 billion KRW this year, including 246.5 billion KRW from the Investment Finance Division and 253.5 billion KRW from the Project Finance Division."

Woori Bank has recently continued to strengthen its market dominance through high-quality acquisition financing arrangements.

Last year, it completed major acquisition and merger (M&A) deals worth about 1 trillion KRW, including Motrol (250 billion KRW) and CJ Olive Young (190 billion KRW). This year, it completed a joint acquisition financing arrangement for Daewoo Construction (300 billion KRW).

Woori Bank IB Group plans to diversify its investment strategies and sectors by expanding stable diversified investments across domestic and international venture capital (VC), private equity funds (PEF), real estate, and infrastructure.

Lee Moon-seok, Head of the IB Group, said, "We will increase the proportion of investments in growth industries preparing for the post-COVID era, such as digital, networks, and artificial intelligence, and continue to participate in blind funds with asset management companies that have excellent performance." He added that the group plans to expand the proportion of high-quality project funds and direct investments.

Furthermore, he stated, "We aim to diversify the real estate finance portfolio by strengthening residential real estate project financing (PF) and expanding into non-residential PF areas. We also plan to increase investment and financing cases related to the Korean New Deal policy and ESG, such as securing financing arrangements for the Tongyeong Combined Cycle Power Plant and joint financing for GTX-C last year."

Meanwhile, Woori Bank IB Group consists of two divisions?the Investment Finance Division and the Project Finance Division?five departments, and one directly controlled overseas subsidiary, Hong Kong Woori Investment Bank. To strengthen IB sales competitiveness and secure professional capabilities, the Investment Finance Division and Project Finance Division were newly established within the IB Group at the end of last year. An internal control dedicated team (CIB Support Team) was also established to strengthen independent risk management within the IB Group.