SBI Savings Bank, now a subsidiary of Kyobo Life Insurance, will change its name to Kyobo SBI Savings Bank.
According to financial industry sources on Sept. 30, SBI Savings Bank said in a notice posted on its website on Sept. 23 that its official corporate name will change to Kyobo SBI Savings Bank on Nov. 1.
The change comes about 13 years after the lender was renamed SBI Savings Bank from Hyundai Swiss Savings Bank, following its acquisition by Japan's SBI Holdings in 2013. Service terms and conditions will be revised to reflect the new name, but existing customer contracts, rights and privacy policies will remain unchanged.
Kyobo SBI Savings Bank plans to use the name change as a springboard for rebranding work, including a new logo, while accelerating efforts to create business synergies between the two parent companies. It also plans to strengthen cooperation by combining Kyobo Life's network of financial affiliates with SBI Holdings' expertise in digital finance.
SBI Savings Bank is South Korea's largest savings bank by assets, and Kyobo Life has been reviewing ways to link it with its existing financial affiliates since the acquisition. The deal expanded Kyobo Life's financial business portfolio to savings banking, adding to insurance, securities and asset management.
The new name reflects the ownership structure shared by Kyobo Life and SBI Holdings. Kyobo Life became the largest shareholder in April this year after securing a "50% plus one share" stake in SBI Savings Bank. SBI Holdings, the former controlling shareholder, remains a major shareholder with a stake in the 40% range. Because SBI Holdings did not sell its entire stake and stayed on as the second-largest shareholder, SBI Savings Bank has maintained joint management by the two companies even after joining the Kyobo Life group.
Kyobo Life has been continuing to reorganize its affiliates, acquiring a 100% stake in Kyobo AXA Investment Managers on Sept. 23 to turn it into a wholly owned subsidiary and renaming it Kyobo Asset Management. It has also applied to financial regulators for approval of a merger involving Kyobo Lifeplanet, its online life insurance subsidiary, and plans to complete the deal by April next year. "The key question is how much synergy SBI Savings Bank can generate now that it has come under the Kyobo Life umbrella," an official in the financial industry said. "If SBI were to run into trouble, it could weigh on the entire group."
