Shinhan Bank said Thursday it has opened an office in Hungary, becoming the first South Korean commercial lender to enter the central European country.

The flagship lender under the nation’s No. 1 banking group by assets said it was granted the license to operate by the Hungarian National Bank in September and opened the office Tuesday.

It also marked Shinhan’s latest overseas market entry since the launch of its subsidiary in Mexico in 2018.

The new office is expected to bolster Shinhan’s European operations, alongside its branch in London, a subsidiary in Frankfurt, Germany and an office in Wroclaw, Poland.

The Hungary office plans to conduct market research for the central and Eastern European markets and financially support Korean businesses’ forays into the countries, Shinhan said.

Hungary has grown as an economic hub for central and eastern Europe in recent years, driven by its robust production of rechargeable batteries, autos and electronics. In 2019, direct investments by Korean firms ranked No. 1 in terms of size among foreign corporate investments in Hungary, Shinhan said, reflecting the growing financial transactions between Korea and the central European economy.

Shinhan Bank’s net profit for the first half of the year increased 20.1 percent on-year to 1.3 trillion won ($1.05 billion).

The total assets of the bank’s holding group, Shinhan Financial Group, stood at 861.7 trillion won as of June this year.