Shinhan Financial Group Co., a major Korean banking group, said Thursday that it posted a 13.3 percent on-year jump in net profit in the first half on a stable increase in profits in its banking unit and improved performance in non-banking units.

Net profit for the six months ending June 30 came to 1.454 trillion won ($1.2 billion), up 170.7 billion from a year earlier, Shinhan Financial said in a regulatory filing.

Shinhan Financial said its banking unit saw a stable increase in profits, and the performance in non-banking units has improved.

The group said its loan-loss provisions in the first half edged down 2.6 percent from a year earlier, despite restructuring in the country's shipping lines and shipyards.

Flagship Shinhan Bank's net profit jumped 29.9 percent on-year to 1.026 trillion won in the first half.

Shinhan Card, the group's credit card unit, posted a net profit of 355.2 billion won, up 1 percent from the same period last year.

Shares of the Shinhan group closed at 38,900 won on the Seoul bourse, up 0.78 percent from the previous session's close. The first-half net result was released after the stock market closed.

Separately, Shinhan Financial said its board of directors held a meeting earlier in the day and decided to raise 500 billion won ($440 million) for its securities arm, Shinhan Investment Corp., through rights issue.

The move would raise the capital base of Shinhan Investment to 3 trillion won, a minimum requirement for becoming an investment bank. (Yonhap)