Granting of restricted banking licence to Shinhan Bank

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (Wednesday) that the Monetary Authority has granted a restricted banking licence to Shinhan Bank (SB) under the Banking Ordinance. The granting of this restricted banking licence took effect on 1 August 2006.

SB was incorporated in South Korea in 1897. According to the July 2006 issue of The Banker, SB was the 2^nd largest bank in South Korea in terms of total assets.

After the granting of a restricted banking licence to SB, the number of restricted licence bank in Hong Kong has increased to 32.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Ying-ying Cheng, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
2 August 2006