Hana Financial Group is joining hands with British financial group Standard Chartered (SC) to expand cooperation in global business and digital assets, including stablecoins. The move comes as Hana Financial Chairman Ham Young-joo recently emphasized stablecoins as a core area of future finance, signaling efforts to gain first-mover advantage through collaboration with global financial institutions.
Hana Financial announced on the 15th that it signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SC Group containing these terms at Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 13th.
The two companies agreed to broaden cooperation in global finance areas including investment banking (IB), capital markets, and foreign exchange, while also exploring joint business opportunities in digital assets including stablecoins. The signing ceremony was attended by key executives from both sides, including Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo and SC Group CEO Bill Winters, who discussed cooperation plans for global finance and digital assets.
"When Hana Financial's and SC's extensive global networks and financial expertise are combined, it will create strong competitiveness in international financial markets," Chairman Ham said. "We will create new growth opportunities through cooperation in future financial areas including digital assets."
CEO Winters also stated, "Korea plays an important hub role in Asian financial markets. Cooperation with Hana Financial, which has significant influence in global markets, will be a meaningful milestone in SC's global network strategy."
Industry observers expect this partnership to accelerate Hana Financial's digital asset business expansion. A cooperative framework with global financial institutions is essential when considering not only Korean won-based stablecoins but also dollar-based stablecoin utilization. SC operates digital asset custody services in the Middle East and Europe while expanding related businesses.
Hana Financial recently formed a Korean won stablecoin issuance consortium with BNK Financial, iM Financial, and SC First Bank. It has also conducted overseas remittance experiments based on deposit tokens using virtual asset exchange Dunamu's blockchain network "GIWA." The group is also strengthening cooperation with Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), the world's second-largest stablecoin. Hana Bank signed an MOU with Circle in May last year, and Hana Card followed in December of the same year to pursue business cooperation.
Since the beginning of this year, Chairman Ham has been accelerating preparations for related businesses, viewing stablecoins as the group's core future business. In his New Year's address in January, Chairman Ham emphasized, "We must proactively design and preemptively build an ecosystem spanning the issuance, distribution, use, and circulation of (Korean won stable)coins." At the 2025 annual earnings announcement held the same month, he stressed, "I believe we can find new growth opportunities in stablecoins. Changes that can fundamentally transform the paradigm of finance will begin."
A Hana Financial official said, "We are building a future financial ecosystem including digital assets by expanding cooperative relationships with various domestic and international operators. When the global networks and financial capabilities of both companies are combined, new business opportunities can be created."