HDBank welcomes new chairman

Kim Byoungho

The appointment of Byoungho – who used to be chairman and CEO at Hana Bank and Hana Financial Group – as chairman of HDBank’s Board of Directors shows its desire to bring an international vision and best standards into its governance, transforming it in its new development stage and enabling international integration.

The veteran South Korean banker is expected to direct the acceleration of HDBank's strategic programmes, the expansion of international cooperation, and the realisation of its targets of high and sustainable growth both in scale and quality.

Byoungho said, "It is my great honour to have this valuable opportunity to participate in the development of HDBank and the Vietnamese banking industry."

“I hope that my experience and expertise in the financial market will contribute to the diversity and open culture of the bank and help enhance its agility and resistance amid the rapid transformation revolution.”

At 61 years old, he has over 30 years of experience in the financial and banking industry.

He used to be CFO and CEO of Hana Bank – the second-largest lender in South Korea – and vice chairman of Hana Financial Group.

During his three-decade tenure at Hana, he led the bank's robust expansion and transformation to become one of the largest in South Korea and built its international reputation.

At Hana Financial Group, he led the merger between Hana Bank and Seoul Bank in 2002 and the acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank from the US private equity firm Lone Star in 2015, thus raising Hana Bank’s total assets to over $240 billion and making it South Korea's leading bank in terms of international market presence with 137 branches in 24 countries.

The new chairman of HDBank has a strong understanding of the Vietnamese market as he led the negotiation process for Hana Bank’s acquisition of a 15 per cent stake – worth nearly $1 billion – in the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment Development of Vietnam (BIDV) in 2019 as a strategic shareholder, contributing to the reform of one of the largest state-owned banks in Vietnam.

After leaving Hana in 2019, he was invited by many reputable financial institutions to serve as an advisor and is currently an independent member of the Board of Directors of SK Inc. – one of the largest corporations in South Korea.

In addition to Byoungho, the HDBank's board for the 2022-27 term also includes Le Manh Dung, an independent member with more than 25 years of experience in the banking and finance sector.

He works at DEG – an investment arm of German state-owned development bank KFW – which recently invested in HDBank's international privately issued bonds.

The remaining five members of the board are all experienced and reputed leaders in the banking and financial industry. The bank also established an advisory board headed by former chairwoman Le Thi Bang Tam.

The results of the election of the board, and with the new chairman being an independent foreign board member coming from major international institutions, promise to bring HDBank into a new growth phase as envisaged in its strategy of integration and development within the business.