[비즈한국] The two pillars of the domestic financial sector, Shinhan Financial Group and KB Financial Group105560, have entered a head-to-head battle by putting forward 'AX (Artificial Intelligence Transformation)' as their 2026 management theme. Shinhan Financial is moving to improve performance through AI-driven efficiency, while KB Financial aims to maintain its position as the leading financial group through AI advancement.
Shinhan and KB Place 'AI' at the Forefront of Management
According to Shinhan Financial Group on the 11th, Chairman Jin Ok-dong attended the '2026 Management Strategy Meeting' and emphasized the sense of responsibility required of leaders. During the meeting held for three days starting on the 8th at the Blue Campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Chairman Jin urged about 250 executives to engage in independent thinking and demonstrate a sense of responsibility toward innovation, stating, "You must fulfill your duties as leaders for a sustainable 'First-Class Shinhan'." Notably, it is known that Chairman Jin presided over the meeting himself without a separate moderator, personally overseeing everything from the discussion methods to the selection of speakers.
The four core tasks presented by Shinhan Financial this year are: acceleration of AX/DX, strengthening execution of productive finance, protection of financial consumers, and leading future strategic industries. This is interpreted as a reflection of Chairman Jin's intention to achieve substantive growth by combining technological innovation with a leader's philosophical reflection and social responsibility.
KB Financial Group Chairman Yang Jong-hee also held the '2026 First Half Group Management Workshop' on the 9th and ordered a powerful drive for innovation from about 260 executives. Chairman Yang encouraged them, saying, "Let's make AI technology a strategic weapon to accelerate the transformation of our business models and work methods."
In particular, Chairman Yang emphasized that AX must be internalized across the group's entire strategy rather than being a mere introduction of technology, and it is reported that the executives reached a consensus on this. On this day, Chairman Yang stated, "We must repay our customers with the expertise and capability that align with trust, the essence of finance," revealing a strategy to solidify market dominance through an overwhelming competitive edge utilizing AI.
'AX' as the Winning Move to Decide the Path of Leading Finance in 2026
Shinhan Financial and KB Financial are engaged in a fierce race for the top spot in the industry. Shinhan Financial held the number one position for over a decade through the diversification of its non-banking portfolio, but after former Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu took office in 2014, KB Financial succeeded in growing its scale through aggressive M&As, reshaping the market into a two-way battle. Although Shinhan Financial reclaimed the top spot in 2022 with a net profit of 4.6423 trillion won, KB Financial took back the throne in 2023.
Since then, the momentum has tilted toward KB Financial. In 2024, KB Financial recorded a net profit of 5.0782 trillion won, becoming the first financial group to enter the '5 Trillion Won Club.' The gap in net profit between KB Financial and Shinhan Financial, which was around 263.9 billion won in 2023, expanded to 628 billion won in 2024, making KB Financial's lead more distinct. Observations suggest that the trend of KB Financial outperforming Shinhan Financial likely continued last year as well.
In a situation where the performance gap is widening, AX is emerging as a decisive move to claim leadership. Shinhan Financial is looking for a chance to counterattack by improving efficiency through AX, while KB Financial is strategizing to secure a clear, insurmountable lead through AI advancement.
Shinhan Bank, the core subsidiary of Shinhan Financial, is the most active among commercial banks in introducing AI to its business operations. In November 2024, Shinhan Bank debuted the 'AI Branch,' a future-oriented retail location operated by AI tellers, and began experimenting with optimizing offline channels. The 'AI Molly Counter,' where AI tellers assist with tasks, has also been running on a trial basis since last year.
KB Financial is accelerating the restructuring of its group-wide strategy. It established a 'Future Strategy Division' this year to serve as a control tower for accelerating AX, and unified the strategy/synergy departments with the AI/data departments to create an integrated execution system from planning to technical implementation. Based on this, the plan is to establish an integrated AI strategy that encompasses both face-to-face and non-face-to-face channels and to secure dominance in new markets such as digital assets.