'IPO Performance War' NH Investment & Securities Director Moves to Shinhan Financial Investment

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] An executive from NH Investment & Securities' IPO (Initial Public Offering) division is moving to a competitor, Shinhan Financial Investment.

According to the investment industry on the 24th, Seo Yun-bok, head of ECM Division 1 at NH Investment & Securities, will transfer to become the head of the IPO division at Shinhan Financial Investment.

Director Seo Yun-bok is a key talent in NH Investment & Securities' IPO division. He played an important role in NH Investment & Securities securing the top position in IPO underwriting (lead managing) performance consecutively in 2019 and 2020.

Seo's move to a competitor is closely related to changes in the IPO underwriting market landscape. According to the Korea Exchange, KB Securities currently ranks first in IPO lead underwriting amounts this year. By securing the listing underwriting of LG Energy Solution, KB Securities is threatening the existing 'Big 3' securities firms.

Meanwhile, the IPO division of Shinhan Financial Investment, where Seo is moving, is also facing challenges. Amid competition between Shinhan Financial Group and KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Investment is under strong performance pressure due to KB Securities' success.

Up to the first quarter, KB Securities leads in performance. KB Securities recorded a net profit of 115.9 billion KRW and an operating profit of 151.1 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. Meanwhile, Shinhan Financial Investment's first-quarter net profit and operating profit were 104.5 billion KRW and 137.6 billion KRW, slightly below KB Securities' results.

An industry insider said, "Recently, KB Securities has stood out in the IPO market, causing an unusual phenomenon where existing IPO leaders are being overlooked in the lead manager selection process. Securities firms, pushed into desperate situations in the race for top performance, are making every effort to secure key talents."

Meanwhile, NH Investment & Securities reorganized its IB division on the same day and carried out organizational restructuring, including establishing a dedicated tax team. Within the IB1 Business Division, the Industry3 Division was newly established to set up an SME department responsible for in-house cooperative sales related to small and medium-sized enterprise mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and IPOs. Additionally, in response to the growing tax-saving issues due to the activation of overseas stock investment, a dedicated tax team called the Tax Center was newly created directly under the Wealth Management (WM) division. Due to increased demand for mobile channel development, a mobile development team was newly established under the Information Technology (IT) division.