KB Financial registers 2.5% growth in Q1 earnings

Net profits totalled ₩1.50t in the January to March period.

Seoul-based KB Financial Group posted a 2.5% year-on-year (YoY) growth in net income, pushed by better performance of the non-banking business and continuous net interest margin (NIM) widening.

The first three months saw a ₩1.50t ($1.1m) in net profits. Net interest income also grew 5.1% YoY to ₩2.79t ($2.1m). The group said this was attributable to a solid NIM expansion and corporate loan growth.

Brokerage and strong financial product sales, fee and commission income bounced back, which saw a 21.7% quarter-on-quarter increase to ₩918b ($680m). 

However, general and administrative expenses went up 5.7% YoY to ₩1.57t ($1.2m) due to continued expenses in digitalisation and life insurance merger-related costs.

“Group and Bank’s NPL Coverage Ratios recorded 196.2%, 263.9% respectively, displaying industry’s highest level of loss absorption capacity against market volatility,” said KB Financial.

(₩1 = $0.00075)