Woori Financial Group's Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio stood at 11.95% as of the end of September last year. Warning signs emerged as the figure fell below the 12% threshold recommended by financial regulators. Since then, Woori Financial has rapidly raised its CET1 ratio under the leadership of Chairman Lim Jong-yong. The ratio approached 12.5% at 12.45% by the end of March this year, and further climbed to 12.95% by the end of September—a 1 percentage point increase in just one year.
"A 1 percentage point increase in capital ratio is by no means an easy feat for a financial holding company," a Woori Financial Group official said. "It requires a combination of strategies—including capital expansion worth trillions of won, risk-weighted asset adjustments, and profit management—all coming together simultaneously."
Woori Financial Group has decided to accelerate its productive finance initiatives backed by its solid capital ratio.
According to financial industry sources on January 14, Woori Financial Holdings' (316140.KS) CET1 ratio reached 12.95% at the end of September, up 1 percentage point from a year earlier. While KB Financial (105560.KS), Shinhan (055550.KS), and Hana (086790.KS) have CET1 ratios in the 13% range as of the end of September, their changes over the past year were -0.01 percentage points for KB Financial, 0.39 percentage points for Shinhan, and 0.16 percentage points for Hana—making Woori Financial's increase the largest among them.
"CET1 is core capital that absorbs losses first, and sufficient CET1 is necessary to expand loans and prepare for risks," a Woori Financial official said. "By quickly restoring stable levels above regulatory requirements, we have built a foundation for continuously expanding credit."
Industry observers expect Woori Financial to accelerate large-scale productive and inclusive finance, having secured both growth and investment capacity while maintaining a conservative capital stance. Woori Financial's manufacturing sector lending reached 53.62 trillion won ($39.5 billion) in the third quarter of this year, up 107.8 billion won from 53.51 trillion won in the fourth quarter of last year.
More significantly, real estate sector lending dropped sharply to 44.09 trillion won in the third quarter—a decline of 6.5 trillion won (approximately 14.7%) compared to the fourth quarter of last year. Going forward, Woori Financial plans to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) agents into its corporate lending process to improve efficiency.
"Over the past year, Woori Financial has been restructuring its corporate lending portfolio to continuously increase productive finance centered on manufacturing while reducing real estate lending," a financial industry official said. "They are implementing a lending strategy that actively supports growth sectors while strengthening management of risky sectors."
That's not all. In September, Woori Financial announced an 80 trillion won "Future Partnership Growth Project." The company plans to expand investment centered on 10 strategic industries including semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and aerospace and defense to support national high-tech industries while securing mid- to long-term growth engines.
