(LEAD) KB Financial Q1 net down 30 pct on increased costs against HK-tied ELS losses

KB Financial Group Inc. on Thursday reported its first-quarter net income plunged nearly 30 percent due to increased costs for the compensation of a mishap in sales of equity-linked securities. Net profit reached 1.06 trillion won (US$773 million) in the January-March period, down from a profit of 1.51 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating income for the quarter rose to 2.35 trillion won from 2.14 trillion won a year earlier, and revenue fell 6 percent on-year to 23.35 trillion won. The financial holding company said it set aside some 862 billion won in reserve for the compensation of "various cases of incomplete sales" involving equity-linked securities products tracking Hong Kong's H Index. Its nonoperating loss swelled to 948 billion won in the first quarter from 96.2 billion won over the cited period. Its interest income rose 11.6 percent on-year to 3.15 trillion won in the first quarter, with its noninterest income dipping 18.7 percent to 1.26 trillion won. T he group's net interest margin, the difference between interest received and paid, came to 2.11 percent in the first quarter, up from 2.04 percent a year earlier. KB Kookmin Bank's net profit declined to 389 billion won in the January-March period from 932 billion won in profit a year earlier. Its operating profit increased 12.86 percent on-year to 4.33 trillion won despite an 8.9 percent drop in revenue from 49.4 trillion won in 2022 to 45.03 trillion won last year. Source: Yonhap News Agency