Improved Credit Profiles Shield Korea's Major Commercial Banks Against Uncertain 2017

HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 13, 2017--S&P Global Ratings today said that Korea's four major commercial banks will likely maintain their overall creditworthiness in 2017 on the back of improved asset quality and adequate capitalization. We expect the risk appetite of the banks-- Kookmin Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), Shinhan Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), KEB Hana Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), and Woori Bank (A/Stable/A-1)--to remain moderate amid uncertainties such as China's economic slowdown, U.S. interest rate hikes, the Trump administration's international trade policy, and sluggish domestic housing demand along with high household leverage in Korea. At the same time, we expect the Korean banks' profitability to stabilize at current levels in 2017 after showing some modest year-on-year improvement in 2016, mainly led by a fall in

...HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 13, 2017--S&P Global Ratings today said that Korea's four major commercial banks will likely maintain their overall creditworthiness in 2017 on the back of improved asset quality and adequate capitalization. We expect the risk appetite of the banks-- Kookmin Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), Shinhan Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), KEB Hana Bank (A+/Stable/A-1), and Woori Bank (A/Stable/A-1)--to remain moderate amid uncertainties such as China's economic slowdown, U.S. interest rate hikes, the Trump administration's international trade policy, and sluggish domestic housing demand along with high household leverage in Korea. At the same time, we expect the Korean banks' profitability to stabilize at current levels in 2017 after showing some modest year-on-year improvement in 2016, mainly led by a fall in provisioning charges amid fairly stable net interest margins (NIMs). The four major Korean banks' preliminary 2016 financial results, posted during the past few weeks, were...

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