Hana Financial to merge its brokerage, IB units

SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- Hana Financial Group Inc., South Korea's No. 4 financial services company, said Friday its board has decided to merge its brokerage unit with its investment banking affiliate.

Under the decision, Hana Daetoo Securities Co. will be merged with Hana IB Securities Co. in a deal to create the nation's 10th-largest brokerage with a
paid-in capital of 1.3 trillion won (US$1.17 billion), Hana Financial said in a
statement.

The proposed merger still needs approval from the country's financial regulator
and the two companies' shareholders.

If things go as planned, Hana Financial will launch the merged brokerage in
January next year, it said.

Hana Financial and other South Korean lenders are expanding their businesses to
compete with foreign rivals as a new law takes effect in February next year that
the government hopes will trigger a "big bang" in the nation's
financial sector.

The so-called Capital Markets Integration Act will give brokerages a greater role
in reshaping the lagging sector, and is part of an ambitious initiative to make
South Korea a regional financial hub.

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