Kim Kyung-ho, Executive Vice President of the Corporate Finance Group at Citibank Korea, has been selected as the final candidate for the next president of Citibank Korea. With outgoing President Yoo Myeong-soon set to step down upon the expiration of her term, the leadership will change for the first time in six years. As Citibank Korea shifts its focus toward corporate finance following its withdrawal from consumer finance, the new president’s key challenges include sustaining the bank’s growth momentum and winding down its remaining retail banking operations.
Citibank Korea announced on the 23rd that it held a Board of Directors Candidate Recommendation Committee meeting on the 22nd and unilaterally recommended Executive Vice President Kim as the sole final candidate for the next president. The candidate is expected to be officially appointed as the next president after going through the shareholders’ meeting and board of directors, with the appointment scheduled for October 27. Earlier, on July 30, President Yoo announced her intention to step down on October 27, coinciding with the end of her term.
The committee explained that Kim was selected as the final candidate after comprehensively considering his medium- and long-term management vision and strategy, internal and external communication skills, leadership capabilities, management expertise, and insight into the financial industry.
Kim is a financial expert with extensive experience in corporate finance. He graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of International Economics and earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He began his career in 1992 at Samsung C&T Corporation’s management control division, later worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, and joined Citibank Korea’s Seoul branch in 2001 as a corporate finance review officer.
He has since served as the head of the Corporate Finance Division at Citibank Korea and as the head of the Institutional Investors Division before taking on his current role as Executive Vice President of the Corporate Finance Group in February 2021. Given his extensive oversight of corporate finance operations targeting major domestic corporations and financial institutions, he is highly regarded for his deep understanding of Citibank Korea’s business structure and global financial network.
With this appointment, Citibank Korea will welcome its third president from the Corporate Finance Group, following former presidents Park Jin-hoe and current president Yoo Myeong-soon. As Citibank Korea has concentrated its efforts on corporate finance since withdrawing from consumer finance, selecting an internal corporate finance expert as the next leader reflects this strategic focus.
The core challenge for Citibank Korea under Kim’s leadership will be expanding growth through corporate finance. While President Yoo led the withdrawal from consumer finance and restructured the business around corporate finance, Kim is expected to drive sustained profit growth based on the newly restructured business model.
Citibank Korea recorded its highest-ever performance in the first half of this year, driven by strong results in its corporate finance division. Net income for the period reached 319.6 billion won, a 75% increase compared to the same period last year. In particular, non-interest income surged by 67% to 483.4 billion won, fueled by gains in foreign exchange, derivatives, and securities-related revenues. Meanwhile, interest income declined by 14% to 215.3 billion won due to a drop in net interest margin (NIM).
Kim is expected to leverage Citigroup’s global network to expand financial services related to overseas expansion, foreign exchange, fund management, and capital markets for domestic companies. A key challenge identified is diversifying revenue streams by expanding the customer base beyond large corporations to include high-quality mid-sized companies, building on Citibank Korea’s competitive edge in corporate finance targeting major enterprises.
Completing the withdrawal from consumer finance remains another critical task. Since deciding to exit the consumer finance business in 2021, Citibank Korea has halted new lending and gradually reduced existing loans. However, as of the end of the second quarter this year, outstanding household loans still amounted to 2.5637 trillion won.
in FINANCE
