Shinhan Financial’s Jin meets with Goldman Sachs Int'l CEO for strategies

Jin Ok-dong, chairman of South Korea’s leading financial conglomerate Shinhan Financial Group, has met with senior executives of US-based multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs to discuss strategic cooperation and growth initiatives.

Jin and Anthony Gutman, co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs International (GSI) and global co-head of investment banking, in particular, discussed issues of mutual concern, including the wealth management (WM) and investment banking (IB) sectors, Shinhan said on Sunday.

The meeting of the financial business leaders was held by a delegation of Shinhan executives during their May 18-23 European road show.

Discussions between the executives of the two parties centered on advanced strategies for scaling up Shinhan’s WM and IB platforms, which have been designated as key pillars of growth for the group.

Shinhan Financial Group offers various financial services ranging from banking to life insurance, non-life insurance, securities, credit card services and asset management.

SHINHAN’S WM, IB FRONTS

In recent years, Shinhan has moved aggressively to consolidate and streamline its wealth management services, launching the launch of the Shinhan Premier Pathfinder platform last year by merging the WM divisions of Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Investment Corp.

The initiative targets high-net-worth individuals with a bespoke advisory model – a segment traditionally dominated by global private banks and domestic rivals such as KB Financial Group.

On the IB front, Shinhan has been enhancing collaboration among its banking, securities and capital units since the creation of the Group & Global Investment Banking (GIB) division within the conglomerate in 2017.

The firm has seen steady gains in capital markets, and its securities and investment arm, Shinhan Investment, has increased its capital base to 5.51 trillion won ($4 billion) at the end of the first quarter, while seeking to obtain a license to handle short-term note issuance – a key capability in Korea’s competitive IB market.

IR SESSIONS IN KEY EUROPEAN NATIONS

In addition to the Goldman Sachs meeting, Chairman Jin's European itinerary included stops in London, Frankfurt and Warsaw, where he led Shinhan’s investor relations sessions with institutional investors.

The briefings focused on Shinhan's capital efficiency and shareholder return initiatives, including goals to lift Shinhan Financial Group’s return on equity by 50 basis points this year, maintain a common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio above 13.1% and deliver a payout ratio of at least 42%.

CET1 is a type of regulatory capital that banks are required to hold to absorb losses and maintain financial stability.

"Direct engagement with global investors is an essential part of our value-up strategy," said Jin. "By learning from the strengths of leading financial institutions and tailoring those insights to the Korean context, Shinhan aims to build a more resilient and sustainable profit structure."

The former chief executive of Shinhan Bank, the group’s flagship unit, Jin took the helm of Shinhan Financial Group in March 2023.

Write to Jin-Seong Kim at jskim1028@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.