iM Financial Group said on Monday its share price closed at 18,510 won on the Korea Exchange (KRX), a record high since the holding company was established on May 17, 2011.

The close beat the previous record of 18,100 won set on Sept. 12, 2014 after about 11 years and 5 months. Market capitalisation also surpassed 2.97 trillion won, nearing 3 trillion won.

The company said the rise was driven by an analysis citing improved valuations across the domestic stock market amid the government’s efforts to revitalise the market as it enters the KOSPI 5,000 era, a stronger trend toward higher shareholder returns among domestic bank stocks, and expectations of improved corporate earnings.

As an additional shareholder return measure, iM Financial decided to buy back 40 billion won of its own shares by June for additional share cancellation. It previously pledged, through a value-up disclosure in October 2024, to buy back and cancel about 150 billion won of its own shares by 2027. It said it has achieved 100 billion won, or about 67 percent, of its value-up plan and is close to the target level, and will continue buybacks and cancellations in undervalued ranges until an appropriate valuation level is reached.

Chun Byung-kyu (천병규), iM Financial Group’s chief financial officer and vice president in charge of group finance, said in a recent earnings conference call, "The board is carrying out preliminary preparations for a capital reduction dividend. If a capital reduction dividend proceeds, additional capacity becomes available for share buybacks by the amount of tax savings," adding, "Overall, the total shareholder return ratio is rising and we judge that profits have entered a normal track, so we will pursue an active shareholder return policy."