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Kb Financial Group (KB) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q4, 2020
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Dec 31, 2020, filed Apr 27, 2021
Risk Change Over Time
No filing history is available.
- Debt & Financing - Risk 1Uncertainties regarding the transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, or any other interest rate benchmark could have adverse consequences for market participants, including us.
In March 2021, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, or the FCA, which has regulatory authority with respect to LIBOR, announced that all LIBOR settings will either cease to be provided by any administrator or no longer be representative (i) after December 31, 2021 in the case of all Sterling, Euro, Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen settings and the one-week and two-month U.S. dollar settings and (ii) after June 30, 2023 in the case of the remaining U.S. dollar settings. While the ICE Benchmark Administration, the administrator of LIBOR, may publish certain LIBOR settings on the basis of a synthetic methodology for "tough legacy" contracts, there is no guarantee that such rates will be determined and published after the announced deadlines nor confirmed to be representative by the FCA. Given the extensive use of LIBOR across financial markets, the transition away from LIBOR presents various risks and challenges to financial markets and institutions, including us, and in particular, Kookmin Bank, our banking subsidiary. As a commercial bank, Kookmin Bank uses various financial products that reference LIBOR, including, among others, commercial loans, deposits, borrowings and debentures. Kookmin Bank also enters into derivatives contracts in order to address the needs of its corporate clients to hedge their risk exposure as well as the need to hedge its own risk exposure that results from such client contracts. In February 2020, Kookmin Bank assembled a task force team in order to assess, identify, monitor and manage risks that may arise from the potential discontinuation of LIBOR. As of the date of this annual report, Kookmin Bank is continuing to transition to alternative reference rates in order to gradually reduce its exposure to LIBOR. Specifically, Kookmin Bank aims to amend its existing agreements to replace LIBOR with alternative reference rates by the third quarter of 2021, and to cease to use LIBOR as the reference rate in new agreements altogether by the end of 2021. Kookmin Bank is also planning to minimize any negative impact that the cessation of LIBOR may have on its results of operations by adjusting its interest rates and deciding upon an appropriate interest rate benchmark. If not sufficiently planned for, the discontinuation of LIBOR or any other interest rate benchmark could result in increased financial, operational, legal, reputational and/or compliance risks. For example, a significant challenge will be managing the impact of the LIBOR transition on the contractual mechanics of LIBOR-based financial instruments and contracts that mature after the announced deadlines. Certain of these instruments and contracts may not provide for alternative reference rates, and even if such instruments and contracts provide for alternative reference rates, such alternative reference rates are likely to differ from the prior benchmark rates and may require us to pay interest at higher rates on the related obligations, which could adversely impact our interest expense, results of operations and cash flows. For example, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, has been identified by the Alternative Reference Rates Committee convened by the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as the preferred alternative benchmark reference rate for LIBOR and differs from LIBOR in many respects, including its basis on actual observed transactions in the U.S. Treasury market as opposed to LIBOR's usage of estimations of borrowing rates. While there are a number of international working groups focused on transition plans and the provision of fallback contract language that seek to minimize market disruption, replacement of LIBOR or any other benchmark, such as SOFR, with a new benchmark rate could adversely impact the value of and return on existing instruments and contracts. Moreover, replacement of LIBOR or other benchmark rates could result in market dislocations and have other adverse consequences for market participants, including the potential for increased costs, and litigation risks stemming from potential disputes with customers and counterparties regarding the interpretation and enforceability of fallback contract language in the LIBOR-based financial instruments and contracts.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2020
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 44
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1We or our major stockholders may sell shares of our common stock or ADSs in the future, and these and other sales may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and ADSs and may dilute your investment and relative ownership in us.
We have no current plans for any public offerings of our common stock, ADSs or securities exchangeable for or convertible into such securities. However, it is possible that we may decide to offer or sell such securities in the future. In addition, our major stockholder, the Korean National Pension Service, held approximately 9.93% of our total issued common stock as of December 31, 2020, which it may sell at any time. Any future offerings or sales by us of our common stock or ADSs or securities exchangeable for or convertible into such securities, significant sales of our common stock by a major stockholder, or the public perception that an offering or sales may occur, could have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and ADSs. Furthermore, any offerings by us in the future of any such securities could have a dilutive impact on your investment and relative ownership interest in us.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2Ownership of our common stock is restricted under Korean law.
Under the Financial Holding Company Act, a single stockholder, together with its affiliates, is generally prohibited from owning more than 10.0% of the issued and outstanding shares of voting stock of a bank holding company such as us that controls a nationwide bank, with the exception of certain stockholders that are non-financial business group companies, whose applicable limit has been reduced from 9.0% to 4.0% pursuant to an amendment of the Financial Holding Company Act which became effective from February 14, 2014. To the extent that the total number of shares of our common stock (including those represented by ADSs) that a holder and its affiliates own exceeds the applicable limits, that holder will not be entitled to exercise the voting rights for the excess shares, and the Financial Services Commission may order that holder to dispose of the excess shares within a period of up to six months. Failure to comply with such an order would result in an administrative fine of up to 0.03% of the book value of such shares per day until the date of disposal. Non-financial business group companies can no longer acquire more than 4.0% of the issued and outstanding shares of voting stock of a bank holding company pursuant to the amended Financial Holding Company Act, which grants an exception for non-financial business group companies which, at the time of the enactment of the amended provisions, held more than 4.0% of the shares thereof with the approval of the Financial Services Commission before the amendment. See "Item 4.B. Business Overview-Supervision and Regulation-Principal Regulations Applicable to Financial Holding Companies-Restrictions on Ownership of a Financial Holding Company."
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3A holder of our ADSs may not be able to exercise dissent and appraisal rights unless it has withdrawn the underlying shares of our common stock and become our direct stockholder.
In some limited circumstances, including the transfer of the whole or any significant part of our business and the merger or consolidation of us with another company, dissenting stockholders have the right to require us to purchase their shares under Korean law. However, holders of our ADSs will not be able to exercise such dissent and appraisal rights if the depositary refuses to do so on their behalf. Our deposit agreement does not require the depositary to take any action in respect of exercising dissent and appraisal rights. In such a situation, holders of our ADSs must withdraw the underlying common stock from the ADS facility (and incur charges relating to that withdrawal) and become our direct stockholder prior to the record date of the stockholders' meeting at which the relevant transaction is to be approved, in order to exercise dissent and appraisal rights.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4A holder of our ADSs may be limited in its ability to deposit or withdraw common stock.
Under the terms of our deposit agreement, holders of common stock may deposit such stock with the depositary's custodian in Korea and obtain ADSs, and holders of ADSs may surrender ADSs to the depositary and receive common stock. However, to the extent that a deposit of common stock exceeds the difference between: (1) the aggregate number of common shares we have deposited or we have consented to allow to be deposited for the issuance of ADSs (including deposits in connection with offerings of ADSs and stock dividends or other distributions relating to ADSs); and (2) the number of shares of common stock on deposit with the custodian for the benefit of the depositary at the time of such proposed deposit,such common stock will not be accepted for deposit unless: (A) our consent with respect to such deposit has been obtained; or (B) such consent is no longer required under Korean laws and regulations. Under the terms of the deposit agreement, no consent is required if the shares of common stock are obtained through a dividend, free distribution, rights offering or reclassification of such stock. We have consented, under the terms of the deposit agreement, to any deposit to the extent that, after the deposit, the number of deposited shares does not exceed such number of shares as we determine from time to time (which number shall at no time be less than 100,000,000 shares), unless the deposit would be prohibited by applicable laws or ownership restrictions or violate our articles of incorporation. We might not consent to the deposit of any additional common stock. As a result, if a holder surrenders ADSs and withdraws common stock, it may not be able to deposit the stock again to obtain ADSs.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5A holder of our ADSs may not be able to enforce a judgment of a foreign court against us.
We are a corporation with limited liability organized under the laws of Korea. Substantially all of our directors and officers and other persons named in this document reside in Korea, and all or a significant portion of the assets of our directors and officers and other persons named in this document and substantially all of our assets are located in Korea. As a result, it may not be possible for holders of our ADSs to effect service of process within the United States, or to enforce against them or us in the United States judgments obtained in United States courts based on the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. There is doubt as to the enforceability in Korea, either in original actions or in actions for enforcement of judgments of United States courts, of civil liabilities predicated on the United States federal securities laws.
See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.