NH NongHyup Bank said Thursday it has launched a branch office in London to make inroads into the UK’s banking industry, as part of the lender’s overseas business strategies aimed at expanding its global presence. 

“It is meaningful that (NH NongHyup Bank) has entered the UK market, Europe‘s major global finance center and the birthplace of financial cooperatives, in 2021, which marks its 60th anniversary. We will speed up efforts to become a global cooperative bank by strengthening business partnership with advanced financial markets, including New York and Hong Kong,” said NH NongHyup Bank CEO Kwon Joon-hak in a statement.

On Wednesday, Kwon hosted a virtual ceremony to celebrate the establishment of London-based branch, in line with the government’s COVID-19 guidance, convened by the nation’s financial authorities Kim Jun-han and Jang Kyung-woon, who are currently serving as regional heads of London branches of the Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service, respectively, officials said. 

Kim Gunn, the South Korean ambassador to Britain, as well as Janet Coyle, an executive at London&Partners -- the capital’s international trade, investment and promotion agency -- also attended the event, sending congratulatory messages via video to celebrate the bank’s fresh start in London.

Currently, NH NongHyup Bank operates 10 overseas branches across eight countries, including the US, China and Vietnam. The launch of a London office is part of NH NongHyup Group’s ambitious goal of setting up 28 overseas branches in 13 major economies by 2025 to achieve a net profit of 160 billion won ($138 million) from the global business sector in the target year. 

By Choi Jae-hee  (cjh@heraldcorp.com)