Hana Financial Group - Overseas Network

Overseas Network

In early 1990, the group had planned to acquire a 25% equity stake in the California Center Bank (CCB).

Hana Bank established a program called the Hana Overseas Club in 1994 as a means to provide financial services to Korean expatriates living abroad, including those living in Canada, Australia,New Zealand and the United States etc. Through the Hana Overseas Club, Hana Bank managed the Korean financial assets of its overseas customers. Upon written or verbal request, Hana Bank would convert funds to U.S. dollar currency and remit the funds via wire transfer to the overseas customer. Hana Bank launched an advertising campaign for the Hana Overseas Club in July 1994. As part of this campaign, Hana Bank ran advertisements in the Korea Times in Los Angeles, New York and other major cities.

To date, the Group’s strategies for global expansion have been focused on East Asia, China in particular. As early as 2007, the Hana Financial Group established a subsidiary in China, Hana Bank China, which now has 13 branches in the world’s most populous market. In 2009, Hana Bank China was licensed to perform transactions involving China’s currency, the Remnimbi, as well as debit card transactions. A year later, the Hana Financial Group acquired an 18% stake in the Bank of Jilin Co. Ltd, solidifying its growing network of retail bank outlets in the region. The largest single investment in the Group’s history, this strategic partnership will give the Hana Financial Group access to the branch network of China’s second largest bank. In January, 2011, the Group entered into a strategic alliance with the China Merchants Bank, which not only has the largest potential for growth in China, but also a competitive credit card and retail banking business in local markets.

The Group has a presence in Indonesia, another area of strategic importance in its global expansion. The Group operates 18 branches through PT Bank Hana, a local subsidiary in Indonesia set up by the Hana Financial Group in 2007. In its embrace of these markets, the Hana Financial Group is taking the concept of ‘glocalization’ as its basic strategy for expansionary growth. A combination of globalization and localization, ‘glocalization’ embodies the Group’s basic principles of openness and diversity. Indeed, the Group hires most of the employees for its overseas operations from local communities. For instance, of the 255 employees at the Group’s Indonesian subsidiary, 98% are Indonesians, including three of the five members of the Board of Directors. Such a prudent approach in local markets has proven highly effective, as PT Bank Hana is already turning a profit after only two years in operation.

The acquisition of KEB strengthens the Hana Financial Group’s overseas network. Previously clustered around East and Southeast Asia, this network will now stretch out around the globe, expanding from 10 branches in nine countries to 37 in 22 countries around the world.