Hana Financial Group reported record first-half 2026 net income of KRW 2.4 trillion, an increase of 4.4% year on year, as a 37.7% jump in fee income and 7.1% growth in net interest income offset one-off costs during the period.
Second-quarter net income came in at KRW 1,192.8 billion, down 1.4% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, while core earnings, defined as the sum of net interest income and fee income, rose 13% for the first half, according to the Seoul-based group's earnings communications.
FEE INCOME DRIVES CORE EARNINGS
Core earnings, comprising net interest income and fees, rose 13% year on year to KRW 6.2956 trillion in the first half.
Fee income rose 37.7% year on year to a record KRW 1.49 trillion and net interest income grew 7.1% to KRW 4.81 trillion, while the group's net interest margin widened to 1.88% in the second quarter. The fee growth came from wealth-management fees such as trust, brokerage and investment management fees, and from underwriting and advisory fees in investment banking.
Second-quarter net income of KRW 1,192.8 billion was down 1.4% quarter on quarter but up 1.7% year on year.
RECORD H1 PROFIT MILESTONE
The record first-half net income reading marks a notable milestone for the group, coming despite one-off costs including lower insurance profit, provisions linked to a corporate rehabilitation filing and foreign-currency translation losses. Hana said the one-offs were KRW 52.4 billion lower insurance profit, KRW 74.9 billion of provisions related to a corporate rehabilitation filing and KRW 109.8 billion of FX translation losses.
Hana Financial Group is one of the largest financial holding companies in South Korea, with a franchise built around Hana Bank, Hana Securities, Hana Card and a range of other subsidiaries covering non-life insurance, life insurance and asset management activities. Hana Bank's first-half net income rose 1.7% to KRW 2.1211 trillion, while Hana Securities' net income rose 155.7% to KRW 273.1 billion.
South Korea's four major financial groups posted a combined record first-half net profit of 11.34 trillion won.
The board approved a quarterly cash dividend of KRW 1,155 per share and an additional KRW 250 billion share buyback and cancellation in the third quarter, and the group raised its return-on-equity target to 12% and set a shareholder return ratio target of 50% or more.
The group's CET1 ratio was estimated at 13.21% at the end of June.