Shinhan Bank, South Korea's second-biggest lender, plans to open a locally incorporated unit in Japan during the quarter starting July 1.
Shinhan won preliminary approval from the Financial Services Agency to set up the unit, the company said Tuesday in a statement. The bank plans to integrate its three branches, in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, into the unit between July and September after getting final approval, the statement said.
Seoul-based Shinhan is the second overseas bank to win approval for a locally incorporated subsidiary, after New York-based Citigroup Inc., which opened a unit in July 2007, the statement said.
Shinhan began doing business in Japan in 1986. The company's assets in the country totaled ¥154.6 billion at the end of March, while lending amounted to ¥105.2 billion.