Hana Financial chair to highlight global success amid criticism

By Lee Kyung-min

Hana Financial Group Chairperson Ham Young-joo will underline the group’s robust global performance during the upcoming shareholders’ meeting on March 25 in a move to solidify his leadership amid lingering concerns over his term extension, market watchers said Tuesday.

The move seeks to quash criticism from global proxy voting services, including Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).

The U.S. proxy advisory agency said the mis-selling of the troubled derivative-linked funds was the responsibility of Ham, grounds it deems warrants a denied term extension.

ISS also argued that the sale of the highly complex financial derivative products resulted in significant consumer losses, and that failing to hold those responsible could jeopardize the group’s reputation.

The recommendation committee of the group recently sent a letter to shareholders, summarizing the chairman’s verified leadership over the course of his tenure.

Included are the group’s record profits, paving the way for the group’s sustainable growth and global standing in the long term.

The letter also underscored Hana's commitment to bolstering the pool of global talents, as outlined by Global Talent drive established under the group’s growth strategy alongside elevating the group to Asia’s best financial services provider.

The group’s net income last year came to 3.78 trillion won ($5.48 billion), underpinned by its efforts to diversify its revenue portfolio away from non-bank businesses.

Fee income from investment banking and credit card transactions were key growth drivers.

Hana said its shareholder returns will be raised to 50 percent by 2027, aided by improved earnings per share and greater dividends.