[비즈한국] The 2025 financial results for regional financial holding companies have been released. JB Financial Group175330 achieved record-high net profit, and BNK Financial Group138930 also saw strong performance with a year-on-year net profit increase of over 10%. While BNK Financial surpassed JB Financial in terms of scale, JB Financial showed superiority in profitability and soundness indicators.
On the 5th, JB Financial announced that it achieved a record-high net profit of 710.4 billion won in 2025, a 4.9% increase from the previous year (677.5 billion won). Total operating profit was 2.3395 trillion won, consisting of 2.0449 trillion won in interest income and 294.5 billion won in non-interest income. The proportion of non-interest income, which had shrunk to 3.6% in 2022, expanded to 12.6% in 2025.
Among its subsidiaries, JB Woori Capital led the performance, successfully overtaking Gwangju Bank, which previously held the highest net profit among group affiliates. JB Woori Capital's 2025 net profit was 281.5 billion won, up 25.8% from the same period the previous year (223.9 billion won). JB Woori Capital has been restructuring its business portfolio to focus on high-yield products by increasing the proportion of non-automotive finance.
In the banking sector, Gwangju Bank's net profit was 272.6 billion won, a 5.5% decrease from 288.3 billion won in 2024. Jeonbuk Bank's 2025 net profit was 228.7 billion won, a 4.6% increase from the same period last year (218.6 billion won). Specifically, both banks saw a significant decline in non-interest income. Gwangju Bank experienced a drop in both interest and non-interest income, with non-interest income falling 19.3% year-on-year to 53.4 billion won in 2025. During the same period, Jeonbuk Bank's non-interest income turned into a deficit, falling from 12.7 billion won to –25.4 billion won.
Among the remaining subsidiaries, JB Investment's performance stands out, with a 2025 net profit of 8.3 billion won, a 116% increase from 3.8 billion won the previous year. The net profit of the sub-subsidiary, Phnom Penh Commercial Bank (PPC Bank), increased by 21.8% year-on-year to 34.2 billion won, despite criminal controversies in Cambodia. JB Asset Management's net profit dropped 63.7% year-on-year to just 2 billion won.
Busan-based BNK Financial also announced its 2025 results on the 6th. BNK Financial's 2025 net profit was 815 billion won, an 11.9% increase from the previous year (728.5 billion won). BNK Financial explained, "Net profit grew despite an increase in general administrative expenses, driven by higher non-interest income, such as gains from securities, and a decrease in credit loss expenses, such as provisions for project financing (PF)."
Among BNK Financial's subsidiaries, Busan Bank led the group's performance with a net profit of 439.3 billion won, a 7.0% increase from 410.6 billion won in 2024. Conversely, Kyongnam Bank's net profit was 292.8 billion won, a 5.6% decrease from the previous year (310.2 billion won). Kyongnam Bank was impacted by a 42.0% decline in commission income, which fell from 42.1 billion won in 2024 to 24.4 billion won in 2025.
In the non-banking sector, BNK Capital led the performance. BNK Capital's 2025 net profit was 128.5 billion won, up 14.5% from the previous year (112.2 billion won). During the same period, BNK Asset Management's net profit surged 186.7% from 8.3 billion won to 23.8 billion won. BNK Securities also performed well, recording a net profit of 23.1 billion won in 2025 compared to 12.3 billion won the previous year. On the other hand, the 2025 net profits of BNK Credit Information and BNK Systems were 1.1 billion won and 2.4 billion won, respectively, representing decreases of 59.3% and 35.1% year-on-year.
Comparing the 2025 results of the two holding companies, while BNK Financial has a larger net profit scale, JB Financial leads in profitability indicators. JB Financial's Return on Equity (ROE) remained in the double digits at 12.4%, and its Return on Assets (ROA) was 1.04%. In contrast, BNK Financial's ROE was 7.64% and its ROA was 0.54%. The Net Interest Margin (NIM), a key profitability indicator for banks, stood at 3.11% for JB Financial as of the fourth quarter of 2025, while BNK Financial remained at 2.02%.
JB Financial was also superior in soundness indicators, though BNK Financial showed signs of improvement. BNK Financial's Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 1.42%, higher than JB Financial's (1.23%), but it succeeded in reducing the figure for four consecutive quarters. BNK Financial commented, "While we are improving our soundness indicators every quarter, continuous management is necessary due to high domestic and international economic uncertainty." In the case of JB Financial, although the NPL ratio is relatively low, it has increased for three consecutive quarters. A lower NPL ratio indicates better soundness.
Meanwhile, attention is focused on this year's bank performance as both JB Financial and BNK Financial have appointed former capital company executives as bank presidents. At JB Financial, where the capital division's net profit surpassed that of the banks, Park Chun-won, the former CEO who led the performance growth at the capital subsidiary, took office as the president of Jeonbuk Bank this year. Jeonbuk Bank had been falling behind Gwangju Bank in net profit and was recently overtaken by the capital division as well; it remains to be seen whether President Park, a former accountant, can achieve a turnaround during his term.
Busan Bank also welcomed Kim Sung-joo, the former CEO of BNK Capital, as its new bank president this year. President Kim, who originally started his career at Busan Bank, returns to the bank after serving as CEO of BNK Credit Information and BNK Capital. With capital performance being the strongest among non-banking sectors at BNK Financial and President Kim's high level of understanding of the bank, Busan Bank is expected to maintain steady growth.
As the domestic stock market grows significantly and financial stocks attract attention, both holding companies have also shown a commitment to enhancing corporate value. JB Financial, which has been continuously buying back and canceling its own shares, stated, "Including the 106.3 billion won already purchased out of the 120 billion won buyback resolved in 2025, this year's shareholder return rate reaches 45%."
BNK Financial's stock price hit an 11-year high, closing at 17,820 won on the 4th. Kang Jong-hoon, CFO of BNK Financial, said, "We will do our best to enhance shareholder value by conducting stock buybacks and cancellations in undervalued sections and stably expanding the proportion of cash dividends to meet the requirements for high-dividend companies eligible for separate taxation of dividend income.".