KB Financial vows to expand partnership with Jefferies Financial Group

KB Financial Group Chairman CEO Yoon Jong-kyoo, right, shakes hands with Jefferies Financial Group President Brian Friedman at KB headquarters in Seoul, May 19. The two discussed expanding Jefferies Financial Group's partnership with KB Securities to KB Financial Group. Courtesy of KB Financial Group

By Yi Whan-woo

KB Financial Group said Tuesday its Chairman and CEO Yoon Jong-kyoo met with Brian Friedman, president of the U.S. investment banking company Jefferies Financial Group, to discuss consolidating their partnership to help the Korean firm expand its presence in the global investment banking industry.

They will widen their partnership from the ongoing cooperation between KB Financial Group's brokerage arm KB Securities, and Jefferies Group LLC, a Jefferies Financial Group subsidiary, to incorporate the entirety of the Korean financial giant.

The two parties signed a contract in July 2021, under which Jefferies Financial Group agreed to offer research data and information on U.S stocks to Korean institutional investors via KB Securities and also offer online educational seminars for KB Securities analysts.

In a separate deal in November 2021, KB Securities and Jefferies Financial Group agreed to work together on brokerage services for overseas investors in the Korean stock market.

KB Financial Group assessed the group-wide partnership with Jefferies Financial Group will help it increase the amount of capital invested overseas in banks, securities firms and asset management companies, among others.

"We judged collaboration with a major global investment banking company is becoming more important more than ever, in accordance with the rapidly growing demand for both private and institutional investors," KB Financial Group said in response to the Yoon-Friedman meeting in Seoul, May 19.

"We will seek ways to maximize customers' profits and enhance global businesses, through various means of cooperation with Jefferies Financial Group."

The group underlined that global expansion of its business is especially in line with its vision for new growth engines as addressed by Chairman Yoon during a shareholders' meeting in March.

By sales, Jefferies Group LLC was ranked eighth in the world in investment banking and seventh in equity capital markets.

Headquartered in New York City, it has offices in more than 40 cities across the U.S., Europe and Asia, and employs a total of 4,500 workers.

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