Hana Bank said on Jan. 5 it has been selected as a new custodian bank, or trustee, for the pension fund investment pool overseen by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The pension fund investment pool is a system introduced by the ministry to improve the stability and profitability of idle fund money. As custodian bank, Hana Bank will carry out integrated management of investment assets for funds and public institutions in the pool from 2026 through 2029, including acquisition, disposal, settlement and custody. It will also verify the appropriateness of benchmark prices and monitor management activities.

In the competitive tender, bidders were evaluated across various categories including financial stability, custody scale, human resources, internal controls and compliance, IT systems, business processes and plans to support asset management.

After proactively introducing a next-generation custody system last year, Hana Bank has handled custody operations that included sharply reducing manual work, improving operational efficiency, expanding processing capacity and providing customised customer reports.

With this selection, Hana Bank will take full charge of custody services for all four major public pensions, including the National Pension Service, the Government Employees Pension and the Teachers' Pension for private schools, as well as the Military Pension, which is part of the pension fund investment pool.

A Hana Bank official said the selection as a new custodian for the pension fund investment pool proved again the bank's unrivalled capabilities as a leading custody provider. The official said it would provide high-quality services with a stronger sense of responsibility so that the pension fund investment pool, into which various public funds are投入, can be managed more stably.