Seoul-based Hana Financial Group is entitled to expand its presence in the United States from September as it has garnered regulatory approval to acquire a New York-based bank.

Korean and U.S. financial supervisors approved the takeover deal, under which Hana Financial is to hold a 71 percent stake in BNB Financial Services Corp., in May and August 2013, respectively.

Through the business networks of BNB Financial’s flagship Broadway National Bank, established in 1986 by Korean-American wholesalers, Hana is expected to widen the scope of retail banking services in the eastern U.S. and in Canada.

To ensure the competiveness of Broadway National Bank, which will likely be renamed in the coming months, Hana Financial is considering hiring a number of U.S. citizens specialized in finance.

Hana’s M&A activities come under the management policy of its chairman and chief executive Kim Jung-tai, who had pledged to prioritize advancement into foreign markets for the group’s two banking units, Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank.

The financial group, which has continued to bolster its networks in China, Indonesia and several other Southeast Asian countries, is also seeking to tap markets including South America and Russia.

As of July 2013, Hana Bank has 61 branches and liaison offices worldwide and the number of distribution channels for its affiliate KEB came to 54.

In addition, the group’s stock brokerage unit, Hana Daetoo Securities, owns two overseas branches and one liaison office.

Chairman Kim reiterated that the domestic financial market has already been saturated. “There is no other way than making inroads into the overseas market in future businesses.”

Hana Bank CEO Kim Jong-jun has said that the commercial bank’s global expansion strategy will be sought in close collaboration with KEB.

KEB CEO Yun Yong-ro has unveiled bank’s vision to advance into Brazil, Argentina and Chile as well as North America, saying that “the method could be M&As or establishing corporations there.”

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)