[Digital Today reporter Oh Sang-yup (오상엽)] KB Securities said its operating profit and net profit more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier, posting record first-half results.

KB Securities filed a disclosure on July 23 saying its consolidated second-quarter operating profit was provisionally tallied at 600.6 billion won, up 175.5 percent from the same period last year. Net profit rose 180.6 percent to 450.8 billion won.

First-half operating profit totalled 1.05 trillion won and net profit was 801.0 billion won, the highest on a half-year basis.

The improved performance was driven by balanced growth in wealth management (WM), investment banking (IB), capital markets and institutional sales.

In the retail and WM business, assets of individual clients topped 200 trillion won for the first time as the firm expanded tailored asset management and supply of asset-allocation products.

The IB business delivered results from lead management in the debt capital market (DCM), and from managing issuance of Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund bonds and kimchi bonds. In the equity capital market (ECM), it handled initial public offerings (IPOs) and paid-in capital increases.

In the capital markets business, mezzanine investment, foreign exchange (FX) and proprietary trading income increased as local equities rose.

The institutional sales business also posted its highest-ever first-half results, supported by growth in cross-border transactions for overseas investors, liquidity provider (LP) activities and prime brokerage services (PBS).

A KB Securities official said, "Even amid high market volatility, all business divisions grew in a balanced way to achieve record first-half results." The official added, "We will continue to strengthen customer-focused asset management, IB competitiveness and global business."