Leadership changes hit banking groups

The nation’s major financial groups are pushing for leadership changes this week starting with Hana Financial Group that reappointed its chairman on Monday.

Hana’s selection committee unanimously recommended the reappointment of current chairman Kim Jung-tae.

Kim, 63, will serve until March 2018 if the selection is endorsed at the board of directors and shareholders meetings next month. He had served as head of Hana Bank until he was named chairman of the group in 2012.

“We judged (Kim) to be the right person to break through the present situation,” the committee said in its decision.

 

The nation’s second-largest banking group is suffering a setback in integrating its two flagship banks ― Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank.

Earlier this month, a local court handed down an injunction and suspended the merger process until the end of June, upholding the KEB labor union’s protest.

Shinhan Financial Group will be selecting its new bank president on Tuesday, to fill in the vacuum of Suh Jin-won who stepped down in January for health reasons.

Potential candidates are the bank’s acting president Lim Young-jin, the group’s vice president Kim Hyung-jin, Shinhan Card CEO Wi Sung-ho, Shinhan Life Insurance CEO Lee Sung-rak, and Shinhan BNP Paribas CEO Cho Yong-byoung.

“The key variable is whether the new bank chief will be able to retain Shinhan’s reputation as the unrivalled No. 1 bank,” said the group’s spokesperson.

However, many see a factional race, since some of the candidates are closely affiliated with former group chairman Ra Eung-chan while others are with former group CEO Shin Sang-hoon.

Ra and Shin triggered a leadership feud back in 2010, which led to their resignation and a series of prosecutorial charges.

NH NongHyup Financial Group, too, is busy seeking a new chief as its current chairman Yim Jong-yong was tapped last week as chairman of the Financial Services Commission.

The group will summon its board of directors and establish a chairman candidate selection committee within the week. The potential candidates so far include NongHyup Bank president Kim Ju-ha and former FSC chairman Kim Seok-dong.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)