'Dividend Feast' Insurance and Card Companies... Last Year's Cash Dividends 2.8 Trillion Won

Last Year, Insurance Companies Paid 2 Trillion KRW and Card Companies 760 Billion KRW in Cash Dividends
Dividend Payout Ratio Easily Exceeds 50%

Insurance and card companies that paid large performance bonuses after achieving record-breaking results last year are estimated to have distributed nearly 3 trillion won in cash dividends.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 23rd, insurance and card companies that disclosed their business reports paid cash dividends of 2.0075 trillion won and 763.1 billion won respectively last year. The total amounted to 2.7706 trillion won.

Among non-life insurers, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance paid the most at 586.6 billion won, followed by KB Insurance (350 billion won), DB Insurance (276.2 billion won), and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance (154 billion won).

Regarding the dividend payout ratio (the ratio of dividends to net income), KB Insurance had the highest at 61.59%. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance was at 45.8%, DB Insurance at 28.1%, and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance at 26.8%. KB Insurance explained, "We did not pay dividends for the past four years in preparation for the introduction of the new accounting standards (IFRS17) and the new solvency regime (K-ICS). As a wholly owned subsidiary of KB Financial Group, capital support from the holding company is possible if necessary, so our dividend policy differs somewhat from that of listed companies."

Among life insurers, Samsung Life Insurance paid the largest dividend of 538.7 billion won, followed by Shinhan Life Insurance with 162.2 billion won. The dividend payout ratios were 34.0% for Samsung Life Insurance and 35.0% for Shinhan Life Insurance.

Among card companies, Samsung affiliates also paid the largest dividends. Samsung Card paid the highest cash dividend of 266.7 billion won, followed by Shinhan Card (256.6 billion won), KB Kookmin Card (200 billion won), and Woori Card (40.8 billion won).

The dividend payout ratio was highest for KB Kookmin Card at 52.8%, followed by Samsung Card at 42.9%, Shinhan Card at 40.01%, and Woori Card at 20%.

As financial authorities have recently requested restraint on dividends, there are expectations that dividends may decrease this year. The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service are urging not only banks but also insurance and card companies to refrain from excessive dividends and to strengthen capital to prepare for instability in the financial markets and enhance loss absorption capacity. Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, warned, "To pay high dividends, the proportion of risk-weighted assets must be lowered, which makes it impossible to extend credit to medium- and low-credit borrowers during difficult times like now," adding, "This could cause issues related to the growth of financial companies in the mid- to long-term."