BNK Financial Group's Net Profit Last Year 802.7 Billion KRW... Up 25.5% YoY

Cash Dividend of 650 KRW per Share

BNK Financial Group announced on the 6th that it recorded a cumulative net income of 802.7 billion KRW last year. This represents a 25.5% increase compared to 2023. The increase was driven not only by interest income but also by growth in non-interest income such as securities-related profits, as well as a decrease in bad debt expenses including real estate project financing (PF) provisions.

The banking sector posted a net income of 771.8 billion KRW, up 135.6 billion KRW from the previous year (Busan Bank 76.4 billion KRW, Gyeongnam Bank 59.2 billion KRW). The non-banking sector showed a net income of 167.9 billion KRW, an increase of 24.9 billion KRW year-on-year. Specifically, capital recorded 18.2 billion KRW, investment securities 5.2 billion KRW, asset management 1.4 billion KRW, and savings banks 0.8 billion KRW in net income.

The asset quality indicator, the ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs), remained steady at 1.18% compared to the previous quarter. The delinquency rate improved by 4 basis points to 0.94% from the last quarter. The common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio, a capital adequacy indicator, rose by 4 basis points to 12.35% compared to the previous quarter, despite year-end dividends, due to adequate profit realization and proactive risk-weighted assets (RWA) management.

Meanwhile, at the board meeting held that day, a dividend payout ratio of 26% and a cash dividend of 650 KRW per share (including an interim dividend of 200 KRW) were approved. The company also decided to repurchase and retire treasury shares worth 40 billion KRW, equivalent to about 5% of net income.

Kwon Jae-jung, Vice President and CFO of BNK Financial Group, stated, “In line with our announced corporate value enhancement plan, we plan to repurchase and retire more treasury shares in the first half of this year than the 33 billion KRW conducted throughout last year to expand shareholder returns.” He added, “We will continue to make our best efforts to maximize the proportion of treasury share repurchases and retirements within the scope of steadily increasing dividends per share, so that our shareholder return policy can be further expanded.”