Shinhan Card market share eroded

Shinhan Card’s supremacy in the credit card market has eroded due to the aggressive marketing from rivals.

Shinhan’s market share in retail credit revenue was 22.4 percent in the three months through March, down 1.4 percentage points from the preceding quarter.

KB Kookmin Card, which spun off from KB Kookmin Bank earlier last year, now controls 14.6 percent of the market, up a full 1 point from a year ago, a significant change considering how rigid the credit card hierarchy had previously been.

Samsung Card’s market share reached 14.5 percent in the first quarter, up 1.6 points from the start of 2011. The company has been aggressively marketing since Choi Chi-hun took over as CEO in late 2010.

Shinhan posted 186.5 billion won in net profit in the first quarter, an annual decline of more than 25 percent.

A failure to retain its monopoly on credit cards issued for families eligible for government childcare subsidiaries was definitely a factor. Shinhan didn’t have its license renewed, while the cards are now issued by KB Kookmin, Woori Bank and Hana SK Card.

``Shinhan has been the player to beat. But it’s looking a lot more beatable now,’’ said a KB Kookmin official.

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