[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES announced on the 2nd that it is maintaining its “Buy” investment rating and target price of 226,000 won for KB Financial Group(105560).

Jeong Jun-seop, an analyst at NH INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated, “This is a time when KB Financial Group’s strengths in its non-banking and non-interest income portfolios are particularly evident,” adding, “Interest income is expected to benefit from rising market interest rates, while non-interest income is expected to benefit from favorable conditions in the capital markets; moreover, the burden of loan losses is not significant due to favorable economic conditions.”
He added, “The recent decision to invest 1 trillion won in its affiliated securities firm is entirely reasonable from the perspective of efficient capital allocation,” noting, “KB Securities’ contribution to the holding company’s profits is expanding, reaching 8.0% in 2024, 10.7% in 2025, and 18.4% in the first quarter of 2026. He elaborated, “We anticipate a virtuous cycle in which the allocation of capital to the securities division will lead to an improvement in the holding company’s ROE (return on equity) and an expansion of shareholder returns.”
He continued, “Shareholder returns are also expected to increase. Despite the rise in the won-dollar exchange rate, we expect the CET1 (Common Equity Tier 1) ratio to improve to 13.72% by the end of June through solid earnings and effective RWA (risk-weighted assets) management,” adding, “Consequently, we forecast a share buyback and cancellation program of approximately 8100억 won in the second half of the year. “In this scenario, total shareholder returns for 2026 are projected to reach 3.6 trillion won, with a shareholder return ratio of 55%,” he explained.
He projected that net income attributable to shareholders for the second quarter of 2026 would be 1.9341 trillion won, with EPS (earnings per share) of 5,474 won, exceeding market expectations. Analyst Jeong stated, “We expect solid earnings driven primarily by non-interest income,” adding, “Net interest income is projected at 3.3 trillion won (+6.1% year-over-year), with the NIM (net interest margin) remaining similar to the previous quarter, and loan growth at a modest 0.5%.”
He added, “Non-interest income is expected to reach 1.8 trillion won (+26.5%), driven by improved performance at affiliated securities and asset management firms due to the strong stock market, as well as increased commission revenue.”