'Value-Up Honor Student' Meritz Financial to Answer Shareholder Questions in Conference Call

Conference Call for the First Half of the Year to Be Held at 4 PM on the 14th

Meritz Financial Group, known as a 'value-up (corporate value enhancement) top performer,' will directly address questions from general shareholders regarding the scale of share buybacks in the second half of the year and risk management measures for securities firms at the 'First Half Conference Call' event on the 14th.

The management of Meritz Financial will present the business performance for the first half of the year and the progress of value-up plans to domestic and international shareholders and investors during the conference call at 4 p.m. on the same day.

This event is special because it is conducted based on questions received in advance from general shareholders. The 'open investor relations (IR)' format involving shareholders was first introduced during the first quarter earnings conference call in May. The CEOs of group subsidiaries such as fire insurance and securities, along with Kim Yong-beom, Vice Chairman of Meritz Financial, also directly responded to shareholder questions.

During this conference call, questions and answers are expected to be exchanged in order of frequency on topics such as 'the scale of share buybacks in the second half amid a sustained forward price-to-earnings ratio (fwd PER) below 10' (16%), 'the level of securities capabilities and the One Meritz management policy since its launch' (11%), 'risk management measures including securities net capital ratio (NCR)' (11%), and 'the level of group and capital loan loss reserves' (8%).

Meritz Financial is also the first domestic financial holding company to disclose a value-up plan. Meritz Financial Group announced its value-up plan on the 4th of last month. In particular, it selected 'total shareholder return (TSR)' as a key indicator and 'shareholder return ratio' as a mid-term execution indicator, setting a specific goal to distribute more than 50% of consolidated net income as dividends by 2025.

The asset management industry has given an 'excellent' evaluation to Meritz Financial's value-up disclosure. Unlike other financial companies, it presented the principle of shareholder equality that 'the value of one share held by a major shareholder is the same as that of one share held by a general shareholder,' and disclosed all key indicators including return on equity (ROE), shareholder return ratio, price-to-book ratio (PBR), as well as TSR, cost of equity (COE), excess capital earnings, and valuation.

Meanwhile, Meritz Financial's second-quarter earnings are expected to be announced after the market closes on the same day.