Shinhan Financial Group said on Jan. 8 that Chairman Jin Ok-dong, after attending a Korea-China business forum as part of an economic delegation, met Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on Jan. 5. The meeting discussed upgrading cooperation structures to respond to rising volatility in global financial markets and the direction of mid- to long-term financial cooperation.

Jin and ICBC Chairman Liao Lin exchanged views on funding collaboration measures, including expanding private currency swaps, to respond more steadily to foreign-currency liquidity needs as they expand overseas business. They also discussed the possibility of joint cooperation in overseas investment and corporate finance using the two groups' global networks.

Shinhan Financial and ICBC have contributed to liquidity stability in the financial markets of both countries since 2008 by signing currency swap agreements between the won and the yuan. They have also continued asset management cooperation in line with mutual aims of improving Shinhan Financial's capital efficiency and RWA management, and diversifying ICBC's Korea-related asset portfolio.

The two sides exchanged views on mid- to long-term cooperation directions through this meeting. These included expanding the size of existing currency swaps and the possibility of reducing foreign-currency funding costs by signing regional currency swaps centered on key overlapping regions within each firm's global network.

Shinhan Financial plans to use the discussions to secure both capital soundness and liquidity funding efficiency and to upgrade a structured cooperation model to respond to changes in the external financial environment.

Jin said, "ICBC is a partner with an unrivaled network and funding capacity in the global financial market." He added, "Shinhan Financial hopes that, through this meeting with ICBC, practical cooperation between the two groups will take a leap forward and lead to opportunities for joint growth in the global market."