Bulletin: Woori Financial Group's Proposed Acquisition Aligns With Its Nonbank Strategy

HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 18, 2023--Woori Financial Group Inc.'s (WFG) proposed acquisition is in sync with the group's commitment to strengthen its non-banking businesses. The potential acquisition of a 52% stake in Daol Investment Co. Ltd. will have minimal impact on the group's adequate capitalization and risk profile. This is due to Daol Investment's small size relative to WFG. The rating on Woori Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), a wholly owned subsidiary of WFG, is also not affected. WFG will likely continue to pursue inorganic growth opportunities in non-banking segments, such as securities and insurance. However, we don't expect any potential acquisition to be of large scale. This is due to the group's focus on maintaining sufficient regulatory capital buffers under

...January 18, 2023 HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Jan. 18, 2023--Woori Financial Group Inc.'s (WFG) proposed acquisition is in sync with the group's commitment to strengthen its non-banking businesses. The potential acquisition of a 52% stake in Daol Investment Co. Ltd. will have minimal impact on the group's adequate capitalization and risk profile. This is due to Daol Investment's small size relative to WFG. The rating on Woori Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), a wholly owned subsidiary of WFG, is also not affected. WFG will likely continue to pursue inorganic growth opportunities in non-banking segments, such as securities and insurance. However, we don't expect any potential acquisition to be of large scale. This is due to the group's focus on maintaining sufficient regulatory capital buffers under Basel III capital requirements. WFG and Woori Bank's regulatory Tier-1 capital ratio stood at 12.7% and 13.3%, respectively, as of Sept. 30, 2022. We believe Woori Bank will remain a dominant operating...

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