Shinhan Bank Basks in Halo of Vietnam Team's Korean Coach
19 December, 2018
Korean banks with branches in Vietnam are basking in the halo of the Vietnamese national football team's Korean coach Park Hang-seo.
Industry insiders on Tuesday said the number of clients at Shinhan Bank's Vietnamese subsidiary rose 20 percent from 1 million to 1.2 million after it recruited Park and Vietnamese star football player Luong Xuan Truong for an ad campaign.
Shinhan's Internet banking customers also increased 45 percent from 124,000 to 180,000 and credit card users from 190,000 to 210,000. The bank plans to issue credit cards emblazoned with the images of Park and Truong.
A Shinhan staffer said, "After Vietnam won the ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup last week, Park Hang-seo fever is even hotter than the popularity of [Dutch coach Guus] Hiddink during the 2002 World Cup," where Korea came fourth.
Korean banks have raced to set up operations in Vietnam, which boasts an annual economic growth rate of almost seven percent. Woori Bank, which opened a branch in Hanoi in 1997, set up a subsidiary there in 2016.