SHG 20-F Report ended Dec. 31, 2015

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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 29, 2016

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 20-F

(Mark One)

OR

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015

OR

For the transition period from to

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report

Commission File Number: 001-31798

Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

20, Sejong-daero 9-gil, Jung-gu

Seoul 04513, Korea

(Address of principal executive offices)

Yu Sunghun, +822 6360 3071(T), irshy@shinhan.com, +822 6360 3098 (F), 20, Sejong-daero 9-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04513, Korea

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of Shinhan Financial Group’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the last full fiscal year covered by this Annual Report: 474,199,587 shares of common stock, par value of Won 5,000 per share.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act: Yes x No ¨

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: Yes ¨ No x

Note — Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ¨ No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow: Item 17 ¨ Item 18 ¨

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes ¨ No x

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Section 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court: Yes ¨ No ¨

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CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS, CONVENTIONS AND CURRENCY OF PRESENTATION

Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires:

All references to “Korea” or the “Republic” contained in this annual report are to the Republic of Korea. All references to the “Government” are to the government of the Republic of Korea. References to the “Financial Services Commission” are to the Financial Services Commission of Korea, and references to the “Financial Supervisory Service” are to the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea, the executive body of the Financial Services Commission.

The fiscal year for us and our subsidiaries ends on December 31 of each year. Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, all references to a particular year are to the year ended December 31 of that year.

The currency of the primary economic environment in which we operate is Korean Won.

In this annual report, unless otherwise indicated, all references to “Won” or “ W ” are to the currency of the Republic of Korea, and all references to “U.S. Dollars,” “Dollars,” “$” or “US$” are to the currency of the United States of America. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations from Won to Dollars were made at W 1,169.3 to US$1.00, which was the noon buying rate in the City of New York on December 31, 2015 for cable transfers according to the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board (the “Noon Buying Rate”). On April 12, 2016, the Noon Buying Rate was W 1,144.5 to US$1.00. The Noon Buying Rate has been volatile recently and the U.S. Dollar amounts referred to in this report should not be relied upon as an accurate reflection of our results of operations. We expect this volatility to continue in the near future. No representation is made that the Won or U.S. Dollar amounts referred to in this report could have been or could be converted into Dollars or Won, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

Unless otherwise indicated, the financial information presented in this annual report has been prepared on a consolidated basis in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”).

Any discrepancies in the tables included herein between totals and sums of the amounts listed are due to rounding.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report includes “forward-looking statements,” as defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including statements regarding our expectations and projections for future operating performance and business prospects. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project” and similar words used in connection with any discussion of our future operating or financial performance identify forward-looking statements. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts included in this annual report are forward-looking statements.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. All forward-looking statements are management’s present expectations of future events and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that

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could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. This annual report discloses, under the caption “Item 3.D. Risk Factors” and elsewhere, important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations (“Cautionary Statements”). Included among the factors discussed under the caption “Item 3.D. Risk Factors” are the followings risks related to our business, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: the risk of adverse impacts from an economic downturn; increased competition; market volatility in securities and derivatives markets, interest or foreign exchange rates or indices; other factors impacting our operational plans; or legislative and/or regulatory developments. We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this annual report. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements.

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Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The selected consolidated income statement and balance sheet data set forth below for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 have been derived from our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB. Our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 have been audited by independent registered public accounting firm KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp.

You should read the following data with the more detailed information contained in “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and our consolidated financial statements included in “Item 18. Financial Statements.” Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results.

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Notes:

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Note:

Dividends

Note:

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Selected Statistical Information

Profitability Ratios and Other Data

Notes:

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Asset Quality Ratios

Notes:

Capital Ratios

Notes:

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The Financial Services Commission regulations require that capital ratios be computed based on our consolidated financial statements under IFRS and regulatory guidelines. The following table sets forth our capital ratios computed on the basis of our consolidated financial statements under IFRS and the regulatory guidelines of the Financial Services Commission.

Exchange Rates

The following table sets forth, for the periods and dates indicated, certain information concerning the Noon Buying Rate in Won per US$1.00.

Source: Federal Reserve Board

Note:

We have translated certain amounts in Korean Won, which appear in this annual report, into U.S. Dollars for convenience. This does not mean that the Won amounts referred to could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. Dollars at any particular rate, the rates stated above, or at all. Unless otherwise stated, translations of Won amounts to U.S. Dollars are based on the Noon Buying Rate in effect on December 31, 2015, which was W 1,169.3 to US$1.00. On April 12, 2016, the Noon Buying Rate in effect was W 1,144.5 to US$1.00.

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Not applicable.

Not applicable.

An investment in the American depositary shares representing our common shares involves a number of risks. You should carefully consider the following information about the risks we face, together with the other information contained in this annual report, in evaluating us and our business.

Risks Relating to Our Overall Business

Difficult conditions and turbulence in the Korean and global economy and financial markets may adversely affect our business, asset quality, capital adequacy and earnings.

Most of our assets are located in, and we generate most of our income from, Korea. Accordingly, our business and profitability are largely dependent on the general economic and social conditions in Korea, including interest rates, inflation, exports, personal expenditures and consumption, unemployment, demand for business products and services, debt service burden of households and businesses, the general availability of credit, the asset value of real estate and securities and other factors affecting the financial well-being of our corporate and retail customers.

The Korean economy is closely integrated with, and is significantly affected by, developments in the global economy. In light of the ongoing general uncertainty about economic and political conditions in Europe, signs of cooling economy for China and the continuing geopolitical and social instability in various parts of the Middle East, including Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as well as in the former republics of the Soviet Union, including Russia and Ukraine, among others, significant uncertainty remains as to the global economic prospects in general and has adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, the Korean economy. In addition, as the Korean economy matures, it is increasingly exposed to the risk of a “scissor effect,” namely being pursued by competitors in less advanced economies while not having fully caught up with competitors in advanced economies, which risk is amplified by the fact that Korean economy is heavily dependent on exports. The Korean economy also continues to face other difficulties, including sluggishness in domestic consumption and investment, volatility in the real estate market, rising household debt, potential declines in productivity due to aging demographics and low birth rates, and a rise in youth unemployment. Any future deterioration of the global and Korean economies could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In particular, difficulties in financial and economic conditions could result in significant deterioration in the quality of our assets and accumulation of higher provisioning, allowances for loan losses and charge-offs as an increasing number of our corporate and retail customers declare bankruptcy or insolvency or otherwise face increasing difficulties in meeting their debt obligations. For example, in 2011 and 2012, the continuing slump in the real estate market and the shipbuilding industry led to increased delinquency among our corporate borrowers in the construction, real estate leasing, shipbuilding and shipping industries, and in certain cases, even insolvency, workouts, recovery proceedings and/or voluntary arrangements with creditors, as was the case for the current and former member companies of the STX Group, Keangnam Enterprises Co., Ltd., Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd., and Sambu Construction Co., Ltd. During the same period, the sustained slump in the real estate market also led to increased delinquency among our retail borrowers, and in particular, borrowers with collective loans for pre-sale of newly constructed apartment units.

Accordingly, Shinhan Bank’s delinquency ratio (based on delinquency of one or more month and net of charge-offs and loan sales) increased from 0.48% as of December 31, 2010 to 0.60% as of December 31, 2011

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and 0.61% as of December 31, 2012. However, primarily due to a modest rebound in the housing market recently and Shinhan Bank’s active efforts to reduce its exposure to such troubled industries and other at-risk borrowers through preemptive risk management policies and increased lending to borrowers with high-quality credit profiles as part of Shinhan Bank’s strategic initiative to improve its asset quality, Shinhan Bank’s delinquency ratio decreased to 0.39% as of December 31, 2013 and further to 0.31% as of December 31, 2014, and remained stable at 0.33% as of December 31, 2015. There is no assurance, however, that Shinhan Bank will not experience further loan losses from borrowers in the troubled industries since the quality of loans to such borrowers may further deteriorate due to the continued slump in these industries or for other reasons. As for Shinhan Card, its delinquency ratio under the Financial Services Commission guidelines increased from 2.01% as of December 31, 2010 to 2.27% as of December 31, 2011, and further to 2.64% as of December 31, 2012 largely as a result of an increase in its assets, before stabilizing and decreasing to 2.15%, 2.18% and 1.69% as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively, largely as a result of its enhanced preemptive risk management and controlled asset growth as well as the sale of large non-performing loans to improve its asset quality.

Moreover, as was the case during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, depending on the nature of the difficulties in the financial markets and general economy, we may be forced to scale back certain of our core lending activities and other operations and/or borrow money at a higher funding cost or face a tightening in the net interest spread, any of which may have a negative impact on our earnings and profitability. Furthermore, while we and our principal subsidiaries currently maintain a capital adequacy ratio at a level higher than the required regulatory minimum, there is no guarantee that an even higher capital requirement will not be imposed by the Government in case of a renewed economic crisis.

In addition, given the highly integrated nature of financial systems and economic relationships worldwide, there may be other unanticipated systemic or other risks that may not be presently predictable. Any of these risks, if materialized, may have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

Competition in the Korean financial services industry is intense, and may further intensify.

Competition in the Korean financial services industry is, and is likely to remain, intense, including as a result of the sustained low interest rate environment (which narrows opportunities to make profit based on the spread between lending rates and funding rates), the continuing sluggishness in the general economy, the growing maturation and saturation of the industry as a whole, the entry of new market participants and deregulation, among others.

In the banking sector, Shinhan Bank competes principally with other national commercial banks in Korea, but also faces competition from a number of additional banking institutions, including branches and subsidiaries of foreign banks operating in Korea, regional banks, government-owned development banks and Korea’s specialized banks, such as Korea Development Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea and the National Association of Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as various other types of financial service providers, including savings institutions (such as mutual savings and finance companies, credit unions and credit cooperatives), investment companies (such as securities brokerage firms, merchant banking corporations and asset management companies) and life insurance companies. As of December 31, 2015, Korea had six major nationwide domestic commercial banks (including Citibank Korea Inc. and Standard Chartered Bank Korea Limited, both of which are domestic commercial banks acquired by global financial institutions), six regional commercial banks and branches and subsidiaries of 40 foreign banks. Foreign financial institutions, many of which have greater experiences and resources than we do, may continue to enter the Korean market and compete with us in providing financial products and services either by themselves or in partnership with existing Korean financial institutions.

In the small- and medium-sized enterprise and retail banking segments, which have been Shinhan Bank’s traditional core businesses, competition is expected to increase further. In recent years, Korean banks, including Shinhan Bank, have increasingly focused on stable asset growth based on quality credit, such as corporate

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borrowers with high credit ratings, loans to “small office, home office” (“SOHO”) with high levels of collateralization, and mortgage and home equity loans within the limits of the prescribed loan-to-value ratios and debt-to-income ratios. This common shift in focus toward stable growth based on less risky assets has intensified competition as banks compete for the same limited pool of quality credit by engaging in price competition or by other means, although Shinhan Bank has traditionally focused, and will continue to focus, on enhancing profitability rather than increasing asset size or market share, and has avoided, to the extent practicable, engaging in price competition by way of lowering lending rates. In addition, such competition may result in lower net interest margin and reduced overall profitability, especially if the low interest rate environment were to continue for a significant period of time. Therefore, if competing financial institutions seek to expand market share by lowering their lending rates, Shinhan Bank may suffer customer loss, especially among customers who select their lenders principally on the basis of lending rates. In response thereto or for other strategic reasons, Shinhan Bank may subsequently lower its lending rates to stay competitive, which could lead to a decrease in its net interest margins and outweigh any potential positive impact on the net interest margin from a general rise in market interest rates. Any future decline in Shinhan Bank’s customer base or its net interest margins could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

In the credit card sector, Shinhan Card competes principally with existing “monoline” credit card companies, credit card divisions of commercial banks, consumer finance companies, other financial institutions and, recently, credit card service providers allied with mobile telecommunications service providers in Korea. Competition has been historically intense in this sector and the market has shown signs of saturation as existing and new credit card service providers make significant investments and engage in aggressive marketing campaigns and promotions to acquire new customers and target customers with high credit quality. While competition has subsided somewhat recently due to stricter government regulations, such as curbs on excessive marketing expenses, competition remains intense and credit card issuers may continue to compete with Shinhan Card for customers by offering lower interest rates and fees, higher credit limits, more attractive promotions and incentives and alternative products such as phone cards, gift cards and low-interest consumer loan products. As a result, Shinhan Card may lose customers or service opportunities to competing credit card issuers and/or incur higher marketing expenses. In addition, the Government regulations adopted in 2012 mandating lower merchant fees chargeable to small- and medium-sized enterprises (which are subject to revision every three years) and the Government guidelines issued in 2013 suggesting lower standard interest rates for cash advances and card loans have reduced, and are likely to continue to limit, the revenues of credit card companies, including Shinhan Card. Most recently, in November 2015, the Government announced a further reduction in the merchant fees chargeable to small- and medium-sized enterprises with effect from January 31, 2016, and this is expected to place downward pressure on Shinhan Card’s results of operations for 2016 and beyond. Furthermore, the Government’s recent guidelines to bolster consumer protection and protect customers’ personal data in the aftermath of data leaks at certain credit companies (not including Shinhan Card) may result in additional compliance costs for Shinhan Card. Customer attrition, together with any further lowering of fees or reduction in base and market interest rates and/or additional expenses from more extensive marketing and promotional campaigns that Shinhan Card might implement to acquire and retain customers, could reduce its revenues and earnings. Furthermore, the average credit quality of Shinhan Card’s customers may deteriorate if customers with higher credit quality borrow from our competitors rather than Shinhan Card and it may become more difficult for Shinhan Card to attract and maintain quality customers. In general, the growth, market share and profitability of Shinhan Card’s operations may decline or become negative as a result of market saturation in this sector, interest rate competition, pressure to lower fee rates and incur higher marketing expenses, as well as Government regulation and social and economic developments in Korea that are beyond our control, such as changes in consumer confidence levels, spending patterns or public perception of credit card usage and consumer debt. If Shinhan Card fails to maintain or attract new cardholders or increase the card usage by existing customers or experiences deterioration in its asset quality and a rise in delinquency, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

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In other financial services sectors, our other subsidiaries also compete in a highly fragmented market. Some of our competitors, particularly the major global financial institutions, have greater experience and resources than we do.

Consolidation among our rival institutions and the Government’s privatization efforts may also add competition in the markets in which we and our subsidiaries conduct business. A number of significant mergers and acquisitions in the industry have taken place in Korea over the past decade, including the acquisition of Hanmi Bank by an affiliate of Citibank in 2004, Standard Chartered Bank’s acquisition of Korea First Bank in 2005, Chohung Bank’s merger with Shinhan Bank in 2006, and Hana Financial Group’s acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank in 2012 and the resulting merger of Hana Bank and Korea Exchange Bank in September 2015. Moreover, in 2014, pursuant to the implementation of the Government’s privatization plan with respect to Woori Finance Holdings (now merged into Woori Bank) and its former subsidiaries, Woori Financial, Woori Asset Management and Woori F&I were acquired by KB Financial Group, Kiwoom Securities and Daishin Securities, respectively, and Woori Investment & Securities, Woori Aviva Life Insurance and Woori FG Savings Bank were acquired by NongHyup Financial Group. In 2015, the Government decided to sell a 30% to 40% interest in Woori Bank to multiple investors in separate blocks ranging from 4% to 10% each. Although such attempts have stalled, most recently in January 2016 when discussions with three Saudi Arabian sovereign funds broke off, the Government is expected to continue efforts to sell minority stakes of Woori Bank. In addition, in October 2014, the Government’s ownership interest in the holding companies of Kwangju Bank and Kyongnam Bank were acquired by JB Financial Group and BS Financial Group (now BNK Financial Group), respectively. In the securities brokerage sector, Mirae Asset agreed in January 2016 to acquire KDB Daewoo Securities, which, if successfully consummated, will create the largest brokerage company in Korea by assets. Any of these developments may place us at a competitive disadvantage and outweigh any potential benefit to us in the form of opportunities to acquire new customers who are displeased with the level of services at the newly reorganized entities or to provide credit facilities to corporate customers who wish to maintain relationships with a wide range of banks in order to diversify their sources of funding. We expect that such consolidation and other structural changes in the financial industry will continue. Other financial institutions may seek to acquire or merge with other entities, and the financial institutions resulting from such consolidation may, by virtue of their increased size and business scope, provide greater competition for us. Increased competition and continuing consolidation may lead to decreased margins, resulting in a material adverse impact on our future profitability.

Regulatory reforms and the general modernization of business practices in Korea have also led to increased competition among financial institutions in Korea. From early 2009, financial investment companies with a dealing license and/or brokerage license are allowed to provide secondary services in connection with securities investments such as settlement and remittance services relating to customer deposits. In addition, in the second half of 2015, the Financial Services Commission began to take steps to adopt the “account switch service,” which allows customers to manage or switch their automatic payment transfer accounts in a more convenient way. For example, the Financial Services Commission introduced the integrated automatic payment transfer management system, which enables customers to change the bank account through which automatic payment transfers are made by following simple steps online or visiting a bank branch, with the banks being responsible for implementing the change should the customer decide to switch banks. Prior to the introduction of the account switch service, customers had the onus of making arrangements with each of the involved banks as well as the payment recipient to make the change. Under the new system, it is expected that customers will find it easier to switch from one bank to another. Currently, the service only applies to limited types of payment transfers, but the Financial Services Commission plans to expand the service with respect to all types of payment transfers by June 2016. Furthermore, effective March 2016, the Financial Services Commission introduced the individual savings account (“ISA”) system, as part of its efforts to lower the regulatory barrier between the banking and securities sectors. The ISA is an integrated account that enables account holders to manage a number of different financial products, including cash deposits, funds and securities investment accounts, from a single account, the income from which will be eligible for tax benefits. Since this new system does not allow an individual to hold multiple ISA accounts, competition among banks and securities firms to retain existing customers and attract new customers is expected to intensify. As a result, Shinhan Bank may face difficulties in increasing or retaining its

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deposits, which in turn may result in an increase in its cost of funding and a decrease in its settlement and remittance service fee revenue. As the reform of the financial sector continues, competition may become more intense among existing banks, insurance companies, securities companies and other financial organizations, and may lead to significant changes in the current Korean financial market.

Furthermore, as the Korean economy further develops and new business opportunities arise, more competitors may enter the financial services industry. For example, as online service providers and technology companies with large-scale user networks, such as Kakao Corp., NAVER and Samsung Electronics, recently make significant inroads in providing virtual payment services through a system based on a growing convergence of financial services and technology commonly referred to as “fintech,” competition for online customers is growing not just among commercial banks, but also from online and mobile payment service providers. Also, widespread consumer acceptance of mobile phone payment services in lieu of credit card services could add to competitive threat to the existing credit card service providers, including our credit card subsidiary. In addition, the Government recently announced its plans to allow Internet-only banks to operate in Korea. As of the date hereof, two business consortiums, Kakao consortium and KT consortium, have been granted preliminary permission by the Government to operate Internet-only banks. These consortiums are expected to apply for final permission during the second half of 2016 and commence operations within six months of the final permission being granted by the Government. Internet-only banks may have advantages over traditional banks as the former can pass savings in labor and overhead costs to their customers by offering higher interest rates on deposit accounts, lower loan costs and reduced service fees. Accordingly, commercial banks will likely face increasing pressure to upgrade their service platforms to attract and maintain online users, which represents a growing customer base compared to traditional customers who have primarily conducted banking in-person at physical banking branches.

Recently, following the global financial crisis, the Government has subjected Korean financial institutions to stricter regulatory requirements and guidelines in areas of asset quality, capital adequacy, liquidity and residential and other lending practices, which has had a dampening effect on competition. The Financial Services Commission implemented the capital requirements of Basel III, whose minimum requirements were phased in sequentially from December 1, 2013 through full implementation by January 1, 2015, based on the guidelines set forth in the amended Regulation on the Supervision of the Banking Business and the Detailed Regulation on the Supervision of the Banking Business. In addition, the Financial Services Commission is currently implementing the Basel III requirements relating to liquidity coverage ratio and capital conservation buffer, each of which will be fully phased in by January 1, 2019. Furthermore, the Financial Services Commission announced that it would implement the Basel III requirements relating to countercyclical capital buffer, which was initially set at 0% on March 30, 2016 but may be subject to change upon quarterly review by the Financial Services Commission. However, there is no assurance that these measures will have the effect of curbing competition or that the Government will not reverse or reduce such measures or introduce other deregulatory measures, which may further intensify competition in the Korean financial services industry. For further details on the capital requirements applicable to us, see “Item 4.B. Business Overview — Supervision and Regulation — Principal Regulations Applicable to Financial Holding Companies — Capital Adequacy.”

If, despite our efforts to adapt to the changing macroeconomic environment and comply with new regulations, we are unable to compete effectively in the changing business and regulatory environment, our profit margin and market share may erode and our future growth opportunities may become limited, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We and our subsidiaries need to maintain our capital ratios above minimum required levels, and the failure to so maintain could result in the suspension of some or all of our operations.

We and our subsidiaries in Korea are required to maintain specified capital adequacy ratios. For example, effective January 1, 2015, we and our banking subsidiaries in Korea are required to maintain a minimum common equity Tier I capital adequacy ratio of 4.5%, a Tier I capital adequacy ratio of 6.0% and a total capital

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(BIS) ratio of 8.0%. These ratios measure the respective regulatory capital as a percentage of risk-weighted assets on a consolidated basis and are determined based on guidelines of the Financial Services Commission. In addition, our subsidiaries Shinhan Card, Shinhan Life Insurance and Shinhan Investment are required to maintain a consolidated adjusted equity capital ratio of 8.0%, a solvency ratio of 100% and a net equity ratio of 100%, respectively.

While we and our subsidiaries currently maintain capital adequacy ratios in excess of the respective required regulatory minimum levels, we or our subsidiaries may not be able to continue to satisfy the capital adequacy requirements for a number of reasons, including an increase in risky assets and provisioning expenses, substitution costs related to the disposal of problem loans, declines in the value of securities portfolios, adverse changes in foreign currency exchange rates, changes in the capital ratio requirements, the guidelines regarding the computation of capital ratios, or the framework set by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (the “Basel Committee”) upon which the guidelines of the Financial Services Commission are based, or other adverse developments affecting our asset quality or equity capital.

In December 2010, the Basel Committee issued final rules in respect of (i) a global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and banking systems and (ii) an international framework for liquidity risk measurement, standards and monitoring, which together are commonly referred to as “Basel III.” Under Basel III, Tier I capital is defined to include common equity Tier I and additional Tier I capital. Common equity Tier I capital is a new category of capital primarily consisting of common stock, capital surplus, retained earnings and other comprehensive income (progressively phased into the capital ratio calculation over several years). The new minimum capital requirements, including the minimum common equity Tier I requirement of 4.5% and additional mandatory capital conservation buffer requirement of 2.5%, are currently being implemented in phases until January 1, 2019. Additional discretionary countercyclical capital buffer requirements are also expected to be phased in, which will range at the discretion of national regulators between 0% and 2.5% of risk-weighted assets. Basel III also introduces a minimum leverage ratio requirement. In January 2016, the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision, the oversight body of the Basel Committee, (i) endorsed a new market risk framework that will take effect from 2019 by revising the standards on minimum capital requirements for market risk, (ii) agreed to complete its work to address the problem of excessive variability in risk-weighted assets by the end of 2016, and (iii) agreed on the use of a Tier I definition of capital for the calculation of the leverage ratio and the minimum leverage ratio level of 3%. The final calibration of the leverage ratio and any further adjustments to its definition are currently expected to be completed within 2016, and full compliance therewith is expected to be required beginning January 1, 2018.

In order to implement the capital requirements under Basel III in Korea, the Regulation on the Supervision of the Banking Business was amended, effective December 1, 2013. Under the amended Regulation on the Supervision of the Banking Business, effective from January 1, 2015, commercial banks in Korea are required to maintain a minimum common equity Tier I ratio of 4.5%, a minimum Tier I capital ratio of 6.0% and a minimum total capital (BIS) ratio of 8.0%. The Regulation on the Supervision of the Banking Business was further amended on December 26, 2014, to implement the liquidity coverage ratio requirements under Basel III in increments of 5% annually, from 80% as of January 1, 2015 to 100% as of January 1, 2019. Capital conservation buffer requirements are also being phased in from January 1, 2016 in increments of 0.625% annually, to the effect that commercial banks in Korea will be required to maintain a capital conservation buffer of 2.5% as of January 1, 2019. If a commercial bank fails to maintain such capital conservation buffer requirements, such bank will be subject to certain restrictions relating to its use of income, such as distributing dividends and purchasing treasury stock. The Financial Services Commission also announced that it would implement the Basel III requirements relating to countercyclical capital buffer, which was initially set at 0% on March 30, 2016 but may be subject to change upon quarterly review by the Financial Services Commission. Most recently, in December 2015, the Financial Services Commission designated us, Hana Financial Group, KB Financial Group and NongHyup Financial Group as domestic systemically important bank holding companies and Woori Bank as a domestic systemically important bank and introduced more stringent capital requirements for these financial

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institutions. According to these new regulations, such financial institutions are required to maintain an additional capital buffer of 0.25% starting on January 1, 2016, with such buffer to increase by 0.25% annually to 1.00% by January 1, 2019.

We and our banking subsidiaries are currently, and have been, in full compliance with Basel III requirements as implemented in Korea since its introduction in December 2013. However, there is no assurance that we will continue to be able to be in compliance with Basel III requirements. New requirements under Basel III may require an increase in the credit risk capital requirements in the future, which may require us or our subsidiaries to either improve asset quality or raise additional capital. In addition, if the capital adequacy ratios of us or our subsidiaries were to fall below the required levels, the Financial Services Commission might impose penalties ranging from a warning to suspension or revocation of our or our subsidiaries’ business licenses. In order to maintain the capital adequacy ratios above the required levels, we or our subsidiaries may be required to raise additional capital through equity financing, but there is no assurance that we or our subsidiaries will be able to do so on commercially favorable terms or at all and, even if successful, any such capital raising may have a dilutive effect on our shareholders with respect to their interest in us or on us with respect to our interest in our subsidiaries.

Liquidity, funding management and credit ratings are critical to our ongoing performance.

Liquidity is essential to our business as a financial intermediary, and we may seek additional funding in the near future to satisfy liquidity needs, meet regulatory requirements, enhance our capital levels or fund the growth of our operations as opportunities arise.

For example, Basel III includes an international framework for liquidity risk measurement, standards and monitoring, as noted above, including a new minimum liquidity standard, known as the liquidity coverage ratio (“LCR”), which is designed to ensure that banks have an adequate stock of unencumbered high quality liquid assets (“HQLA”) that can be easily and speedily converted into cash in the private marketplace to survive a significant stress scenario lasting 30 calendar days. The LCR is computed as (a) the value of a banking organization’s HQLA, divided by (b) its total expected net cash outflows over the next 30 calendar days under stress scenarios. The minimum LCR is 100%. In January 2013, the Basel Committee released a revised formulation of the LCR, one of two quantitative liquidity measures approved in December 2010 as part of Basel III. The Basel Committee extended the timetable for full phase-in of the LCR to the effect that the minimum LCR was set at 60% as of January 1, 2015 and thereafter rises in annual increments of 10% so that the minimum LCR will be 100% as of January 1, 2019. In December 2014, the Financial Services Commission promulgated regulations to implement the liquidity requirements of Basel III, including raising the minimum LCR to 80% as of January 1, 2015 and thereafter by annual increments of 5% so that the minimum LCR for commercial banks in Korea will be 100% as of January 1, 2019.

A substantial part of the liquidity and funding requirements for our banking subsidiaries is met through short-term customer deposits, which typically roll over upon maturity. While the volume of our customer deposits has generally been stable over time, customer deposits have from time to time declined substantially due to the popularity of other, higher-yielding investment opportunities, namely stocks and mutual funds, for example, during times of bullish stock markets. During such times, our banking subsidiaries were required to obtain alternative funding at higher costs. There is no assurance that a similar development will not occur in the future. In addition, in recent years, we have faced increasing pricing competition from our competitors with respect to our deposit products. If we do not continue to offer competitive interest rates to our deposit customers, we may lose their business, which has traditionally provided a stable and low-cost source of funding. In addition, even if we are able to match our competitors’ pricing, doing so may result in an increase in our funding costs, which may have an adverse impact on our results of operations.

We and our subsidiaries also raise funds in capital markets and borrow from other financial institutions, the cost of which depends on market rates and the general availability of credit and the terms of which may limit our

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ability to pay dividends, make acquisitions or subject us to other restrictive covenants. While we and our subsidiaries are not currently facing liquidity difficulties in any material respect, if we or our subsidiaries are unable to obtain the funding we need on terms commercially acceptable to us for an extended period of time for whatever reason, we may not be able to ensure our financial viability, meet regulatory requirements, implement our strategies or compete effectively.

Credit ratings affect the cost and other terms upon which we and our subsidiaries are able to obtain funding. Domestic and international rating agencies regularly evaluate us and our subsidiaries, and their ratings of our and our subsidiaries’ long-term debt are based on a number of factors, including our financial strength as well as conditions affecting the financial services industry and the Korean economy in general. There can be no assurance that the rating agencies will maintain our current ratings or outlooks. There is no assurance that Shinhan Bank, Shinhan Card, any of our other major subsidiaries or our holding company will not experience a downgrade in their respective credit ratings and outlooks for reasons related to the general Korean economy or reasons specific to such entity. Any downgrade in the credit ratings and outlooks of us and our subsidiaries will likely increase our cost of funding, limit our access to capital markets and other borrowings, or require us to provide additional credit enhancement in financial transactions, any of which could adversely affect our liquidity, net interest margins and profitability, and in turn, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, bond and equity prices, and other market factors have affected and will continue to affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The most significant market risks we face are interest rate, foreign exchange and bond and equity price risks. Changes in interest rate levels, yield curves and spreads may affect the interest rate margin realized between lending and borrowing costs. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly in the Korean Won to U.S. Dollar exchange rates, affect the value of our assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies, the reported earnings of our non-Korean subsidiaries and income from foreign exchange dealings, and substantial and rapid fluctuations in exchange rates may cause difficulty in obtaining foreign currency-denominated financing in the international financial markets on commercial terms acceptable to us or at all. The performance of financial markets may affect bond and equity prices and, therefore, cause changes in the value of our investment and trading portfolios. While we have implemented risk management systems to mitigate and control these and other market risks to which we are exposed, it is difficult to predict with accuracy changes in economic or market conditions and to anticipate the effects that such changes could have on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Of particular importance is the change in the base and market interest rates. Since 2009, Korea, like many other countries, has experienced a low interest rate environment despite some marginal fluctuations, in part due to the Government’s policy to stimulate the economy through active rate-lowering measures. Between 2009 and 2014, the base interest rate set by the Bank of Korea remained within the band between 2.00% and 3.25%. In an effort to support Korea’s economy in light of the recent slowdown in Korea’s growth and uncertain global economic prospects, the Bank of Korea reduced the base interest rate to 1.75% in March 2015 and further reduced such rate to the historic low of 1.50% in June 2015, which has since remained unchanged. Interest rate movements, in terms of magnitude and timing as well as their relative impacts on our assets and liabilities, have a significant impact on our net interest margin and profitability, particularly with respect to our financial products that are sensitive to such movements. For example, if the interest rates applicable to our loans (which are recorded as assets) increase at a slower pace or by a thinner margin than the interest rates applicable to our deposits (which are recorded as liabilities), our net interest margin will shrink and our profitability will be negatively affected. In addition, the relative size and composition of our variable rate loans and deposits (as compared to our fixed rate loans and deposits) may also impact our net interest margin. Furthermore, the difference in the average term of our interest-earning assets (primarily loans) compared to our interest-bearing liabilities (primarily deposits) may also impact our net interest margin. For example, since our deposits tend to have longer terms, on average, than those of our loans, our deposits are on average less sensitive to movements in the base interest rates on which our deposits and loans tend to be pegged, and therefore, a decrease in the base

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interest rates tends to decrease our net interest margin while an increase in the base interest rates tends to have the opposite effect. While we continually manage our assets and liabilities to minimize our exposure to interest rate volatility, such efforts by us may not mitigate the impact of interest rate volatility in a timely or effective manner, and our net interest margin, and in turn our financial condition and results of operations, could suffer significantly.

We cannot assure you when and to what extent the Government will in the future adjust the base interest rate, to which the market interest rate correlates. A decision to adjust the base interest rate is subject to many policy considerations as well as market factors, including the general economic cycle, inflationary levels, interest rates in other economies and foreign currency exchange rates, among others. In general, a decrease in interest rates adversely affects our interest income due to the different maturity structure for our assets and liabilities as discussed above. In contrast, if there were to be a significant or sustained increase in interest rates, all else being equal, such movement would lead to a decline in the value of traded debt securities and could also raise our funding costs, while reducing loan demand, especially among retail customers. Rising interest rates may therefore require us to re-balance our assets and liabilities in order to minimize the risk of potential mismatches in our asset liability management and to maintain our profitability. In addition, rising interest rates may adversely affect the Korean economy and the financial condition of our corporate and retail borrowers, including holders of our credit cards, which in turn may lead to deterioration of asset quality for our credit portfolio. Since most of our retail and corporate loans bear interest at rates that adjust periodically based on prevailing market rates, a sustained increase in interest rates will increase the funding costs of our borrowers and may adversely affect their ability to make payments on their outstanding loans.

We may incur losses associated with our counterparty exposures.

We face the risk that counterparties will be unable to honor contractual obligations to us or our subsidiaries. These parties may default on their obligations to us or our subsidiaries due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. This risk may arise, for example, from entering into swaps or other derivative contracts under which counterparties have obligations to make payments to us or our subsidiaries or in executing currency or other trades that fail to settle at the required time due to non-delivery by the counterparty or systems failure by clearing agents, exchanges, clearing houses or other financial intermediaries. Any realization of counterparty risk may adversely affect our business, operations and financial condition.

Risks Relating to Our Banking Business

We have significant exposure to small- and medium-sized enterprises, and financial difficulties experienced by such enterprises may result in a deterioration of our asset quality.

Our banking activities are conducted primarily through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Shinhan Bank. One of our core banking businesses has historically been and continues to be lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (as defined in “Item 4.B. Business Overview — Our Principal Activities — Corporate Banking Services — Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Banking”). Our loans (before allowance for loan losses and deferred loan origination costs and fees) to such enterprises amounted to W 55,062 billion as of December 31, 2013, W 59,889 billion as of December 31, 2014 and W 67,336 billion as of December 31, 2015, representing 26.5%, 26.8% and 27.1%, respectively, of our total loan portfolio as of such dates.

Compared to loans to large corporations, which tend to be better capitalized and better able to weather business downturns, or loans to individuals and households, which tend to be secured with homes and with respect to which the borrowers are therefore less willing to default, loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises have historically had a relatively higher delinquency ratio. Many small- and medium-sized enterprises represent sole proprietorships or small businesses dependent on a relatively limited number of suppliers or customers and tend to be affected to a greater extent than large corporate borrowers by fluctuations in the Korean and global economy. In addition, small- and medium-sized enterprises often maintain less sophisticated financial records than large corporate borrowers. Therefore, it is generally more difficult for banks to judge the level of risk

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inherent in lending to these enterprises, as compared to large corporations. In addition, many small- and medium-sized enterprises are dependent on business relationships with large corporations in Korea, primarily as suppliers. Any difficulties encountered by those large corporations would likely hurt the liquidity and financial condition of related small- and medium-sized enterprises, including those to which we have exposure, also resulting in an impairment of their ability to repay loans. As large Korean corporations continue to expand into China, Southeast Asia and other countries with lower labor costs and other expenses through relocating their production plants and facilities to such countries, such development may have a material adverse impact on such small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Financial difficulties experienced by small- and medium-sized enterprises as a result of, among other things, recent economic difficulties in Korea and globally and aggressive marketing and intense competition among banks to lend to this segment in recent years, coupled with our efforts to counter asset quality deterioration through conservative lending policy, have led to a fluctuation in the asset quality of our loans to this segment. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, Shinhan Bank’s delinquent loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises were W 320 billion, W 322 billion and W 308 billion, respectively, representing delinquency ratios (net of charge-offs and loan sales) of 0.55%, 0.53%, and 0.46% respectively. If the ongoing difficulties in the Korean or global economy were to continue or aggravate, the delinquency ratio for our loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises may rise.

Of particular concern is our significant exposure to enterprises in the real estate and leasing and construction industries. As of December 31, 2015, Shinhan Bank had outstanding loans (before allowance for loan losses and deferred loan origination costs and fees) to enterprises in the real estate and leasing and construction industries (many of which are small- and medium-sized enterprises) of W 19,061 billion and W 2,797 billion, respectively, representing 9.0% and 1.3%, respectively, of its total loan portfolio as of such date. We also have other exposure to borrowers in these sectors of the Korean economy, including extending guarantees for the benefit of such companies and holding debt and equity securities issued by such companies. In addition, Shinhan Bank has exposure to borrowers in the shipbuilding and shipping industries, which have yet to stage a meaningful turnaround, and those in the petrochemical industries, which have recently been facing challenges due to declining fuel prices.

The enterprises in the real estate development and construction industries in Korea, which are heavily concentrated in the housing market, continue to experience difficulties despite the Government’s policy measures designed to stimulate the real estate market and a moderate recovery in demand in the housing market, due to ongoing economic sluggishness in Korea and globally and the demographic changes in the Korean population. We also have limited exposure to real estate project financing, particularly by construction companies that have built residential units in provinces outside the metropolitan Seoul area, which have experienced a relatively low rate of pre-sales, the proceeds from which the construction companies primarily rely on as a key source for liquidity and cash flow.

Any of the foregoing developments may result in deterioration in the asset quality of our banking subsidiaries. See “Item 4.B. Business Overview — Description of Assets and Liabilities — Credit Exposures to Companies in Workout and Recovery Proceedings.” We have been taking active steps to curtail delinquency among our small- and medium-sized enterprise customers, including by way of strengthening loan application review processes and closely monitoring borrowers in troubled sectors. Despite such efforts, there is no assurance that the delinquency ratio for our loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises will not rise in the future, especially if the Korean economy were to face renewed difficulties and, as a result, the liquidity and cash flow of these borrowers deteriorate. A significant rise in the delinquency ratios among these borrowers would lead to increased charge-offs and higher provisioning and reduced interest and fee income, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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A decline in the value of the collateral securing our loans or our inability to fully realize the collateral value may adversely affect our credit portfolio.

Most of our mortgage and home equity loans are secured by borrowers’ homes, other real estate, other securities and guarantees (which are principally provided by the Government and other financial institutions), and a substantial portion of our corporate loans are also secured, including by real estate. As of December 31, 2015, the secured portion of Shinhan Bank’s loans (before allowance for loan losses and deferred loan origination costs and fees) amounted to W 98,645 billion, or 49.1% of its total loans. There is no assurance that the collateral value will not materially decline in the future. Shinhan Bank’s general policy for mortgage and home equity loans is to lend up to 40% to 70% of the appraised value of the collateral and to periodically re-appraise such collateral. However, if the real estate market in Korea experiences a downturn, the value of the collateral may fall below the outstanding principal balance of the underlying mortgage loans. Borrowers of such under-collateralized mortgages or loans may be forced to pay back all or a portion of such mortgage loans or, if unable to meet the collateral requirement through such repayment, sell the underlying collateral, which sales may lead to a further decline in the price of real estate in general and set off a chain reaction for other borrowers due to the further decline in the value of collateral. Declines in real estate prices reduce the value of the collateral securing our mortgage and home equity loans, and such reduction in the value of collateral may result in our inability to cover the uncollectible portion of our secured loans. A decline in the value of the real estate or other collateral securing our loans, or our inability to obtain additional collateral in the event of such decline, may result in the deterioration of our asset quality and require us to make additional loan loss provisions. In Korea, foreclosure on collateral generally requires a written petition to a Korean court. Foreclosure procedures in Korea generally take 10 to 14 months from initiation to collection depending on the nature of the collateral, and foreclosure applications may be subject to delays and administrative requirements, which may result in a decrease in the recovery value of such collateral. There can be no assurance that we will be able to realize the full value of collateral as a result of, among others, delays in foreclosure proceedings, defects in the perfection of collateral and general declines in collateral value. Our failure to recover the expected value of collateral could expose us to significant losses.

Guarantees received in connection with our real estate financing may not provide sufficient coverage.

Primarily through Shinhan Bank, we, alone or together with other financial institutions, provide financing to real estate development projects, which are concentrated largely in the construction of residential complexes. Developers in Korea commonly use project financing to acquire land and pay for related project development costs. As a market practice, lenders in project financing, including Shinhan Bank, generally receive from general contractors a performance guarantee for the completion of projects by the developers as well as a payment guarantee for the loans raised by a special purpose financing vehicle established by the developers in order to procure the construction orders, as the developers tend to be small and highly leveraged. As of December 31, 2015, the total outstanding amount of Shinhan Bank’s real estate project financing-related exposure was approximately W 1.6 trillion, which represents a significant decrease over the years as Shinhan Bank has actively reduced new exposures in this area in light of the sustained downturn in the Korean real estate market. However, if defaults were to significantly increase under our existing loans to real estate development projects and the general contractors fail to pay the guaranteed amount necessary to cover the amount of our financings, this may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A limited portion of our credit exposure is concentrated in a relatively small number of large corporate borrowers, and future financial difficulties experienced by them may have an adverse impact on us.

Of Shinhan Bank’s 10 largest corporate exposures as of December 31, 2015, three were companies that are or were members of the main debtor groups as identified by the Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, which are largely comprised of chaebols . As of such date, the total amount of Shinhan Bank’s exposures to the main debtor groups was W 21,359 billion, or 15.1%, of its total exposures. As of that date, Shinhan Bank’s single largest outstanding exposure to a main debtor group amounted to W 4,166 billion, or 2.9%, of its total exposures. Largely due to the continued stagnation in the shipbuilding and construction industries, in 2013, current and

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former member companies of the STX Group, one of the leading conglomerates in Korea, entered into voluntary arrangements with their creditors (including Shinhan Bank) to improve their credit situation, and Keangnam Enterprises Co., Ltd., a large construction company in Korea, entered into workout proceedings in the same year and subsequently filed for recovery proceedings in March 2015. Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. and Sambu Construction Co., Ltd. also experienced significant hardship and entered into workout or recovery proceedings in 2015. Additionally, in October 2015, creditors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., led by Korea Development Bank, announced a restructuring plan that includes additional cash injection and extensive streamlining measures. Partly as a result of its active past efforts to reduce exposure to the shipbuilding and construction sectors, Shinhan Bank currently has limited exposure to the aforementioned troubled companies. However, if the credit quality of Shinhan Bank’s exposure to large corporations, including those in the main debtor groups, declines, Shinhan Bank may be required to record additional loan loss provisions in respect of loans and impairment losses in respect of securities, which would adversely affect its financial condition, results of operations and capital adequacy. Shinhan Bank cannot assure you that the allowances it has established against these exposures will be sufficient to cover all future losses arising from such exposures, especially in the case of a prolonged or renewed economic downturn.

A limited number of the main debtor groups to which Shinhan Bank has credit exposure are subject to restructuring programs or are otherwise making significant efforts to improve their financial conditions, such as by obtaining intragroup loans and entering into agreements to further improve their capital structures. There is no assurance that there will not be future restructuring with Shinhan Bank’s major corporate customers or that such restructuring will not result in significant losses to Shinhan Bank with less than full recovery. In addition, if the Government decides to pursue an aggressive restructuring policy with respect to distressed companies, Korean commercial banks, including Shinhan Bank, may face a temporary rise in delinquencies and an intensified pressure for additional provisioning. Furthermore, bankruptcies or financial difficulties of large corporations, including chaebol groups, may have the adverse ripple effect of triggering delinquencies and impairment of Shinhan Bank’s loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises that supply parts or labor to such corporations. If Shinhan Bank experiences future losses from its exposure to large corporations, including chaebol groups, it may have a material adverse impact on Shinhan Bank’s business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Item 4.B. Business Overview — Description of Assets and Liabilities — Loans — Loan Portfolio — Exposure to Main Debtor Groups.”

The asset quality of our retail loan portfolio may deteriorate.

In recent years, consumer debt, including lending to households and small unincorporated businesses, has continued to increase in Korea. Shinhan Bank’s portfolio of retail loans is comprised of two principal product types, namely secured retail loans (which are primarily comprised of mortgage and home equity loans secured by real estate) and general purpose loans (which are unsecured loans and tend to carry a higher credit risk). As of December 31, 2015, Shinhan Bank’s retail loan portfolio (before allowance for loan losses and deferred loan origination costs and fees) was W 90,426 billion, or 42.9% of its total loans outstanding. As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, Shinhan Bank’s non-performing retail loans were W 132 billion, W 141 billion and W 148 billion, respectively, representing non-performing loan ratios (net of charge-offs and loan sales) of 0.18%, 0.18% and 0.16%, respectively.

Our large exposure to consumer debt means that we are exposed to changes in economic conditions affecting Korean consumers. For example, a rise in unemployment, an increase in interest rates or a decline in housing prices in Korea could adversely affect the ability of consumers to make payments and increase the likelihood of potential defaults. Economic difficulties in Korea that hurt consumers could result in increasing delinquencies and a decline in the asset quality of the our household loan portfolio, which may in turn require us to record higher provisions for credit loss and charge-offs and may materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

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Any deterioration in the asset quality of our guarantees and acceptances will likely have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In the normal course of banking activities, we make various commitments and incur certain contingent liabilities in the form of guarantees and acceptances. Financial guarantees, which are contracts that require us to make specified payments to reimburse the beneficiary of the guarantee for a loss such beneficiary incurs because the debtor in respect of which the guarantee is given fails to make payments when due in accordance with the terms of the relevant debt instrument, are recognized initially at fair value, and such initial fair value is amortized over the life of the financial guarantee. Other guarantees are recorded as off-balance sheet items in the notes to our financial statements and those guarantees that we have confirmed to make payments are recorded on the statements of financial position. As of December 31, 2015, we had aggregate guarantees and acceptances of W 13,120 billion, for which we provided allowances for losses of W 80 billion. Such guarantees and acceptances include refund guarantees provided by us to shipbuilding companies, which involve guaranteeing a refund payment of the initial cash payment (typically 25% of the contract amount for ship orders) received by shipbuilders from buyers in the event that such shipbuilders are unable to deliver the ships in time or otherwise default under the shipbuilding contracts. Small- and medium-sized shipbuilding companies continue to face financial difficulties due to the sluggishness of the global economy and the resulting slowdown in shipbuilding orders, which has increased the risk that they may default on their shipbuilding contracts and we may have to make payments under the refund guarantees. The refund guarantees provided by us to small- and medium-sized shipbuilding companies amounted to W 88 billion as of December 31, 2015. If there is significant deterioration in the quality of assets underlying our guarantees and acceptances, our allowances may be insufficient to cover actual losses resulting in respect of these liabilities, or the losses we incur on the relevant guarantees and acceptances may be larger than the outstanding principal amount of the underlying loans.

Risks Relating to Our Credit Card Business

Future changes in market conditions as well as other factors, such as stricter regulation, may lead to reduced revenues and deterioration in the asset quality of credit card receivables.

As of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, Shinhan Card’s interest-earning credit card assets amounted to W 19,626 billion, W 20,550 billion and W 21,323 billion, respectively. Our large exposure to credit card and other consumer debt means that we are exposed to changes in economic conditions affecting Korean consumers in general. For example, a rise in unemployment, an increase in interest rates, a downturn in the real estate market, or a general contraction or other difficulties affecting the Korean economy may lead Korean consumers to reduce spending (a substantial portion of which is conducted through credit card transactions), which in turn leads to reduced earnings for our credit card business, as well as to higher default rates on credit card loans, deterioration in the quality of our credit card assets and increased difficulties in recovering written-off assets from which a significant portion of Shinhan Card’s revenues is derived. Any of these developments could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Increasing consumer and corporate spending and borrowing on our card products and growth in card lending balances depend in part on Shinhan Card’s ability to develop and issue new or enhanced card and prepaid products and increase revenue from such products and services, as well as the level of discretionary income among our cardholders, which is largely affected by macroeconomic factors beyond our control. In addition, credit card companies in Korea, including Shinhan Card, may not be able to enjoy any rapid growth in revenue over the long term due to the maturing nature of the credit card industry, in part due to oversaturation of credit card service providers. Shinhan Card’s future earnings and profitability also depend on its ability to attract new cardholders, reduce cardholder attrition, increase merchant coverage and capture a greater share of customers’ total credit card spending in Korea and overseas. Shinhan Card may not be able to manage and expand cardholder benefits in a cost-effective manner or contain the growth of marketing, promotion and reward expenses to a commercially reasonable level. If Shinhan Card is not successful in increasing customer spending, maintaining or expanding its market position and asset growth, or containing costs or cardholder benefits, its financial condition, results of operations and cash flow could be negatively affected.

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In addition, Government regulations aimed at protecting small- and medium-sized enterprises, such as the reduction of fees chargeable to small- and medium-sized merchants, may have a material adverse effect on our revenues from Shinhan Card. In January 2012, the Government expanded the definition of a small- and medium-sized merchant to include those with annual sales of up to W 200 million and, effective September 2012, lowered fees chargeable to such merchants from 1.8% to 1.5% with respect to credit cards. In January 2015, the Government further expanded the definition of a small- and medium-sized merchant to include those with annual sales of more than W 200 million and up to W 300 million, and imposed a cap on fees chargeable to such merchants at 2.0% with respect to credit cards. Most recently, in November 2015, the Government announced a further reduction in the merchant fees chargeable to small- and medium-sized enterprises with respect to credit cards, effective January 31, 2016, from 2.0% to 1.3% for merchants with annual sales of more than W 200 million and up to W 300 million, and from 1.5% to 0.8% for merchants with annual sales of up to W 200 million. Pursuant to the Specialized Credit Financial Business Act, the rates of fees chargeable to merchants are subject to review and revision every three years.

In 2013, the Government also implemented measures regulating marketing costs in order to control excessive marketing campaigns and curtail undue marketing expenses, which had the effect of impeding revenue growth for credit card companies, but also reduced or slowed the growth in their marketing expenses. In addition, effective December 2013, the Government introduced guidelines to curb the interest rates that credit card companies, including Shinhan Card, may charge on card loans and cash advances. Furthermore, the Government also provides tax incentives, among others, for the use of check cards (where the amounts paid with check cards are instantly debited from the customer’s bank accounts) to encourage the use of check cards in lieu of credit cards in an attempt to preempt a potential rise in delinquency among credit card users, and if check cards are widely used in lieu of credit cards, this would reduce interest income from credit cards, which generally have a longer repayment period than that of check cards, and may have an adverse impact on Shinhan Card’s revenues and results of operations.

Risks Relating to Our Other Businesses

We may incur significant losses from our investments and, to a lesser extent, trading activities due to market fluctuations.

We enter into and maintain large investment positions in fixed income products, primarily through our treasury and investment operations. These activities are described in “Item 4.B. Business Overview — Our Principal Activities — Other Banking Services.” We also maintain smaller trading positions, including equity and equity-linked securities and derivative financial instruments as part of our operations. Taking these positions entails making assessments about financial market conditions and trends. The revenues and profits we derive from many of these positions and related transactions are dependent on market prices, which are beyond our control. When we own assets such as debt or equity securities, a decline in market prices, for example, as a result of fluctuating market interest rates or stock market indices, can expose us to trading and valuation losses. If market prices move in a way that we have not anticipated, we may experience losses. In addition, when markets are volatile and subject to rapid changes in price directions, actual market prices may be contrary to our assessments and lead to lower than anticipated revenues or profits, or even result in losses, with respect to the related transactions and positions.

We may generate losses from our brokerage and other commission- and fee-based business.

We, through our investment and other subsidiaries, currently provide, and seek to expand the offerings of, brokerage and other commission- and fee-based services. Downturns in stock markets typically lead to a decline in the volume of transactions that we execute for our customers and, therefore, a decline in our non-interest revenues. In addition, because the fees that we charge for managing our clients’ portfolios are often based on the size of the assets under management, a downturn in the stock market, which has the effect of reducing the value of our clients’ portfolios or increasing the amount of withdrawals, also generally reduces the fees we receive from our securities brokerage, trust account management and other asset management services. Even in the

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absence of a market downturn, below-market performance by our securities, trust account or asset management subsidiaries may result in increased withdrawals and reduced cash inflows, which would reduce the revenue we receive from these businesses. In addition, protracted declines in asset prices can reduce liquidity for assets held by us and lead to material losses if we cannot close out or otherwise dispose of deteriorating positions in a timely way or at commercially reasonable prices.

Other Risks Relating to Us as the Holding Company

Our ability to continue to pay dividends and service debt will depend on the level of profits and cash flows of our subsidiaries.

We are a financial holding company with minimal operating assets other than the shares of our subsidiaries. Our primary source of funding and cash flow is dividends from, or disposition of our interests in, our subsidiaries or our cash resources, most of which are currently the result of borrowings. Since our principal assets are the outstanding capital stock of our subsidiaries, our ability to pay dividends on our common and preferred shares and service debt will mainly depend on the dividend payments from our subsidiaries.

Companies in Korea are subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions with respect to payment of dividends. For example, under the Korean Commercial Code, dividends may only be paid out of distributable income, which is calculated by subtracting the aggregate amount of a company’s paid-in capital and certain mandatory legal reserves from its net assets, in each case as of the end of the prior fiscal year. In addition, financial companies in Korea, including banks, credit card companies, securities companies and life insurers, such as our subsidiaries, must meet minimum capital requirements and capital adequacy ratios applicable to their respective industries before dividends can be paid. For example, under the Banking Act of 1950, as amended (the “Banking Act”), a bank is required to credit at least 10% of its net profit to a legal reserve each time it pays dividends on distributable income until such time when this reserve equals the amount of its total paid-in capital, and under the Banking Act, the Specialized Credit Financial Business Act and the regulations promulgated by the Financial Services Commission, if a bank or a credit card company fails to meet its required capital adequacy ratio or is otherwise subject to the management improvement measures imposed by the Financial Services Commission, then the Financial Services Commission may restrict the declaration and payment of dividend by such a bank or credit card company. In addition, if our or our subsidiaries’ capital adequacy ratios fall below the required levels, our ability to pay dividends may be restricted by the Financial Services Commission.

Damage to our reputation could harm our business.

We are one of the largest and most influential financial institutions in Korea by virtue of our financial track records, market share and the size of our operations and customer base. Our reputation is critical to maintaining our relationships with clients, investors, regulators and the general public. Our reputation can be damaged in numerous ways, including, among others, employee misconduct (including embezzlement), cyber or other security breaches, litigation, compliance failures, corporate governance issues, failure to properly address potential conflicts of interest, the activities of customers and counterparties over which we have limited or no control, prolonged or exacting scrutiny from regulatory authorities and customers regarding our trade practices, or uncertainty about our financial soundness and our reliability. If we are unable to prevent or properly address these concerns, we could lose our existing or prospective customers and investors, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our risk management policies and procedures may not be fully effective at all times.

In the course of our operations, we must manage a number of risks, such as credit risks, market risks and operational risks. We seek to monitor and manage our risk exposures through a comprehensive risk management platform, encompassing centralized risk management organization and credit evaluation systems, reporting and monitoring systems, early warning systems and other risk management infrastructure, using a variety of risk management strategies and techniques. See “Item 4.B. Business Overview — Risk Management.” Although we

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devote significant resources to developing and improving our risk management policies and procedures and expect to continue to do so in the future, our risk management practices may not be fully effective at all times in eliminating or mitigating risk exposures in all market environments or against all types of risk, including risks that are unidentified or unanticipated. For example, from time to time, a limited number of our and our subsidiaries’ personnel have engaged in embezzlement of substantial amounts for an extended period of time before such activities were detected by our risk management systems. In response to these incidents, we have strengthened our internal control procedures by, among others, implementing a real-time monitoring system, but there is no assurance that such measures will be sufficient to prevent similar employee misconducts in the future. Management of credit, market and operational risk requires, among others, policies and procedures to record properly and verify a large number of transactions and events, and we cannot assure you that these policies and procedures will prove to be fully effective at all times against all the risks we face.

We may experience disruptions, delays and other difficulties relating to our information technology systems.

We rely on our information technology systems to seamlessly provide our wide-ranging financial services as well as for our daily operations, including billing, online and offline financial transactions settlement and record keeping. We continually upgrade, and make substantial expenditures to upgrade, our group-wide information technology system, including in relation to customer data-sharing and other customer relations management systems, particularly in light of the heightened cyber security risks from advances in technology. Despite our best efforts, however, we may experience disruptions, delays, cyber or other security breaches or other difficulties relating to our information technology systems, and may not timely upgrade our systems as currently planned. Any of these developments may have an adverse effect on our business, particularly if our customers perceive us to not be providing the best-in-class cyber security systems and failing to timely and fully rectify any glitches in our information technology systems.

Our activities are subject to cyber security risk.

Our activities have been, and will continue to be, subject to an increasing risk of cyber-attacks, the nature of which is continually evolving. Cyber security risks include unauthorized access, through system-wide “hacking” or other means, to privileged and sensitive customer information, including passwords and account information, and illegal use thereof. Cyber security risk is generally on the rise as a growing number of our customers increasingly rely on our Internet- and mobile phone-based banking services for various types of financial transactions. While we vigilantly protect customer data through encryption and other security programs and have made substantial investments to build and upgrade our systems and defenses to address the growing threats from cyber-attacks, there is no assurance that such data will not be subject to future security breaches. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will not experience a leakage of customer information or other security breaches as a result of illegal activities by our employees, outside consultants or hackers, or otherwise.

For example, in March 2013, we experienced a temporary interruption in providing online financial services due to large-scale cyber-attacks by unidentified sources on the security systems of major broadcasting networks and financial institutions in Korea. The interruption of our online financial services lasted approximately 90 minutes, after which our online system resumed without further malfunction. The Financial Supervisory Service conducted an investigation into the incident and found that Shinhan Bank and Jeju Bank had not properly maintained their information technology administrator accounts and vaccine servers. As a result, in December 2013, the Financial Supervisory Service notified Shinhan Bank and Jeju Bank of an institutional caution (which does not give rise to significant sanctions unlike in the case of repeated institutional warnings) and imposed disciplinary actions against five of Shinhan Bank’s employees and three of Jeju Bank’s employees. We do not believe such incident resulted in any material loss or leakage of customer information or other sensitive data.

Major financial institutions in Korea have also fallen victim to large-scale data leakage in the past. In December 2013, it was reported that there was a leakage of personal information of approximately 130,000 customers of Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank in Korea, which leakage was attributed to a third party sub-contractor in the case of Standard Chartered Bank, and an employee in the case of Citibank. In addition, in

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January 2014, it was reported that there was a leakage of personal information of approximately 100 million customers of NH Card, Lotte Card and KB Card in Korea due to illegal access to such information by an employee of a third party credit information company in the course of developing information technology programs for these three credit card companies.

Other than the cyber security attack in March 2013 as discussed above, we have not experienced any material security breaches in the past, including any similar large scale leakage of customer information. In order to minimize the risk of security breaches related to customer and our other proprietary information, we have taken a series of group-wide preventive measures, such as the adoption and implementation of a best-in-class information security system and reinforcement of internal control measures. We are fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of cyber security and consumer protection measures and upgrading them continually. We have implemented the ISO 27001-certified security management system for us and all our subsidiaries, and we have obtained the Information Security Management System certification for most of our subsidiaries. We believe such certifications represent third-party validations that we are in compliance with best-in-class international standards on matters of information security. Our security management system continuously monitors for signs of potential cyber-attacks and is designed to provide early warning alerts to enable prompt action by us. We also provide intensive employee training to our information technology staff and other employees on cyber security and have adopted advanced security infrastructure (including through hiring a highly competent team of information security experts) for online financial services such as mandatory website certification and keyboard security functions. In addition, in compliance with applicable regulations we currently carry insurance to cover cyber security breaches up to W 3 billion in relation to our banking business and up to W 3 billion in the aggregate and up to W 1 billion per incident for our securities investment business and have set aside a reserve of W 1 billion for our credit card business. In addition, in light of the growing use of smart phones and other mobile devices to access financial services, we have implemented security measures (including encryptions and service terminal monitoring) to provide a secure mobile banking service as well as to prevent illegal leakage or sharing of customer data and otherwise enhance customer privacy. We are also keenly aware of the litigation and regulatory sanctions risks that may arise from security breaches and are aggressively reinforcing a group-wide culture that stresses safety and good custodianship as among our highest priorities. Furthermore, we are actively taking steps to implement preventive and other steps recommended or required by the regulatory authorities in relation to actual and potential financial scams. However, given the unpredictable and continually evolving nature of cyber security threats due to advances in technology or other reasons, there is no assurance that, notwithstanding our best efforts at maintaining the best-in-class cyber security systems, we will not be vulnerable to major cyber security attacks in the future.

The public is developing heightened awareness about the importance of keeping their personal data private, and the financial regulators are placing greater emphasis on data protection by financial service providers. For example, under the Personal Information Protection Act, as amended in July 2015, financial institutions, as personal information manager, may not collect, store, maintain, utilize or provide resident registration numbers of their customers, unless other laws or regulations specifically request or permit the management of resident registration numbers. Further, under the Use and Protection of Credit Information Act, as amended in March 2015, a financial institution has a higher duty to protect all information that it collects from its customers and to treat such information as credit information. Such regulations have considerably restricted a financial institution’s ability to transfer or provide the information to its affiliate or holding company, and treble damages can be imposed on a financial institution for a leakage of such information. In addition, under the Electronic Financial Transaction Act, as last amended in January 2016, a financial institution is primarily responsible for compensating its customers harmed by the financial institution’s cyber security breach, even if the breach is not directly attributable to the financial institution. We maintain an integrated system that closely monitors customer information to ensure compliance with data protection laws and regulations.

If a cyber or other security breach were to happen with respect to us or any of our subsidiaries, it may result in litigation by affected customers or other third parties (including class actions), compensation for any losses suffered by victims of cyber security attacks, reputational damage, loss of customers, heightened regulatory

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scrutiny and related sanctions, more stringent compliance with the present and future regulatory restrictions, and other costs related to damage control, reparation and reinforcement of information security systems, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our customers may become victims to “voice phishing” or other financial scams, for which we may be required to make monetary compensation and suffer damage to our business and reputation.

In recent years, financial scams known as voice phishing have been on the rise in Korea. While voice phishing takes many forms and has evolved over time in terms of sophistication, it typically involves the scammer making a phone call to a victim under false pretenses (for example, the scammer pretending to be a member of law enforcement, an employee of a financial institution or even an abductor of the victim’s child) and luring the victim to transfer money to an untraceable account controlled by the scammer. More recently, voice phishing has increasingly taken the form of the scammer “hacking” or otherwise wrongfully obtaining personal financial information of the victim (such as credit card numbers or Internet banking login information) over the telephone or other means and illegally using such information to obtain credit card loans or cash advances through automated telephone banking or Internet banking. Reportedly, a substantial number of such scammers belong to international criminal syndicates with bases overseas, such as China, with operatives in Korea.

In response to the growing incidents of voice phishing, regulatory authorities have undertaken a number of steps to protect consumers against voice phishing and other financial scams. There is no assurance, however, that the regulatory activities will have the desired effect of substantially eradicating or even containing the incidents of voice phishing or other financial scams. For example, following an investigation in November and December 2011 of major credit card companies, including Shinhan Card, as to their compliance with regulations on card loan-related voice phishing and the scope of damage suffered by customers as a result of voice phishing, the Financial Supervisory Service issued a number of guidelines for credit companies to comply with in order to minimize damage from voice phishing, including, among others, (i) strengthening identity verification procedures for card loan applications that are made online or through the automated response system, (ii) delaying the timing of loan payout by a few hours following the approval of card loan application, and (iii) giving an option to customers to block card loan applications. In May 2012, Shinhan Card completed all necessary steps to fully comply with these additional guidelines and has been in full compliance since then.

Although the financial institutions are often not legally at fault for the damage suffered by victims of voice phishing, the compensation scheme was adopted largely in consideration of social responsibility among financial institutions and that the financial institutions were not required to, and therefore in many instances did not, confirm the personal identity of the card loan or cash advance applicants prior to the adoption of such scheme. On December 8, 2011, Shinhan Card began implementing a mandatory outcall procedure to verify the personal identity of applicants for card loans and cash advances if not requested in person. In January 2012, financial institutions, the Financial Supervisory Service, the police and other related institutions formed a joint committee to prevent voice phishing incidents and implemented preventive measures such as enforcing a 10 minute delay for withdrawal of credit card loans of W 3 million or more from an automated teller machine. In addition, Shinhan Card and our other subsidiaries have established a fraud detection system that identifies any questionable transactions based on deviations from a customer’s conventional transaction patterns.

Partly as a result of these efforts, the claims that Shinhan Card received in 2015 in relation to voice phishing amounted only to an aggregate amount of W 0.37 billion from 11 customers, for which Shinhan Card reserved as other provisioning W 0.11 billion to cover its potential liability. Accordingly, we do not believe that the currently outstanding claims in relation to voice phishing will have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Additionally, other than voice phishing incidents and the recent cyber security attacks as discussed above, we have not experienced any material security breaches in the past. However, given continual advances in technology and the increasing sophistication of the financial scammers, there is no assurance that we will be able to prevent future financial scams, or that the frequency and scope of financial scams will not rise. If financial scams involving us and our subsidiaries were to continue or to become more

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prevalent, it may result in compensation for any losses suffered by victims thereof, reputational damage, loss of customers, heightened regulatory scrutiny and related sanctions, compliance with the present and future regulatory restrictions, and other costs related to damage control, reparation and reinforcement of our preventive measures, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Legal claims and regulatory risks arise in the conduct of our business.

In the ordinary course of our business, we are subject to regulatory oversight and potential legal and administrative liability risk. We are also subject to a variety of other claims, disputes, legal proceedings and government investigations in Korea and other jurisdictions where we are active. See “Item 8.A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information — Legal Proceedings.” These types of proceedings may expose us to substantial monetary and/or reputational damages and legal defense costs, injunctive relief, criminal and civil penalties and the potential for regulatory restrictions on our businesses. The outcome of these matters cannot be predicted and they could adversely affect our future business.

While we plan to rigorously defend our positions in the lawsuits or other regulatory proceedings against us, it is difficult to predict the final outcome of such cases. The total amount in dispute may increase during the course of litigation and other lawsuits may be brought against us based on similar allegations. Accordingly, these lawsuits and other proceedings may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Relating to Law, Regulation and Government Policy

We are a heavily regulated entity and operate in a legal and regulatory environment that is subject to change, and violations could result in penalties and other regulatory actions.

As a financial services provider, we are subject to a number of regulations that are designed to maintain the safety and soundness of Korea’s financial system, to ensure our compliance with economic and other obligations and to limit our risk exposure. These regulations may limit our activities, and changes in these regulations may increase our costs of doing business. Regulatory agencies frequently review regulations relating to our business and implement new regulatory measures, including increasing the minimum required provisioning levels or capital adequacy ratios applicable to us and our subsidiaries from time to time. We expect the regulatory environment in which we operate to continue to change. Changes in regulations applicable to us, our subsidiaries and our or their business or changes in the implementation or interpretation of such regulations could affect us and our subsidiaries in unpredictable ways and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Upon implementation of the Government-proposed Financial Consumer Protection Act (currently pending at the National Assembly’s subcommittee for review of the bill), financial instrument distributors will be subject to heightened investor protection measures, including stricter distribution guidelines, improved financial dispute resolution system, increased liability for damages borne by direct financial instrument distributors and newly imposed penalty surcharges. We may also become subject to other restrictions on our operations as a result of future changes in laws and regulations, including more stringent liquidity and capital requirements under Basel III, which are being adopted in phases in Korea in consideration of, among others, the pace and scope of international adoption of such requirements. Any of these regulatory developments may have a material adverse effect on our ability to expand operations or adequately manage our risks and liabilities. For further details on the principal laws and regulations applicable to us as a holding company and our principal subsidiaries, see “Item 4.B. Business Overview — Supervision and Regulation.”

In addition, violations of law and regulations could expose us to significant liabilities and sanctions. For example, the Financial Supervisory Service conducts periodic audits on us and, from time to time, we have received institutional warnings from the Financial Supervisory Service. If the Financial Supervisory Service

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determines as part of such audit or otherwise that our financial condition, including the financial conditions of our operating subsidiaries, is unsound or that we have violated applicable law or regulations, including Financial Services Commission orders, or if we or our operating subsidiaries fail to meet the applicable requisite capital ratio or the capital adequacy ratio, as the case may be, set forth under Korean law, the Financial Supervisory Service may ask the Financial Services Commission to order, among other things, cancellations of authorization, permission or registration of the business, suspensions of a part or all of the business, closures of branch offices, recommendations for dismissal of officers or suspensions of officers from performing their duties, or may order, among other things, institutional warnings, institutional cautions, reprimanding warnings on officers, cautionary warnings on officers or cautions on officers. From time to time, our subsidiaries, including Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Card, have been subject to investigations and/or sanctions from the Financial Supervisory Service. See “Item 8.A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information — Legal Proceedings.” Any such investigation and/or sanctions imposed on us or our subsidiaries could adversely impact our reputation, business, results of operations or financial condition.

The Government may encourage targeted lending to certain sectors in furtherance of policy objectives, and we may take this factor into account.

The Government has encouraged and may in the future encourage targeted lending to certain types of enterprises and individuals in furtherance of government initiatives. The Government, through its regulatory bodies such as the Financial Services Commission, from time to time announces lending policies to encourage Korean banks and financial institutions, including us and our subsidiaries, to lend to particular industries, business groups or customer segments, and, in certain cases, has provided lower cost funding through loans made by the Bank of Korea for further lending to specific customer segments.

For example, the Government has taken and is taking various initiatives to support small- and medium-sized enterprises and low-income individuals, who were disproportionately affected by the downturn in the Korean and global economy in the late 2000s and have yet to fully recover. As part of these initiatives, the Financial Supervisory Service has recently encouraged banks in Korea to increase lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises in order to ease the financial burden on such enterprises amid sluggish economic recovery, and partly as a result of government policy, in February 2015, banks in Korea announced their commitment to increase lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises by W 38.4 trillion in the aggregate (comprised of a W 19.9 trillion commitment by major commercial banks, W 6.8 trillion commitment by regional banks and a W 11.7 trillion commitment by government-controlled policy banks) by the end of 2015 in anticipation of growing liquidity difficulties among such enterprises in light of the sustained sluggishness of the general economy. The financial regulators have also adopted several measures designed to improve certain lending practices of the commercial banks which practices were perceived as having an unduly prohibitive effect on extending loans to small- to medium-sized enterprises. In addition, as a way of supporting the Government’s initiative to assist promising start-ups and venture companies, in February 2015 the financial regulators announced that they would encourage the banks in Korea to increase lending to technology companies in the small- to medium-sized enterprise segment by an annual target of W 20 trillion and to enhance technology-related credit review capabilities.

Furthermore, in response to an increasing level of consumer debt and amid concerns over the debt-servicing capacity of retail borrowers if interest rates were to rise, the Financial Services Commission announced in February 2014 that it plans to increase the proportion of fixed interest rate loans and installment principal repayment-based loans within the total housing loans extended by commercial banks (which loans have historically been, for the most part, variable interest rate loans with the entire principal being repaid at maturity, which is usually rolled over on an annual basis). According to this plan, the target proportion for fixed interest rate loans was set at 20%, 35%, 37.5% and 40% and the target proportion for installment principal repayment-based housing loans was set at 20%, 35%, 40% and 45%, each by the end of 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. In addition, an expanded tax deduction limit for interest repayment is granted for loans with maturity of 10 years or more (compared to 15 years or more prior to this plan). The Financial Services Commission announced that it would examine whether banks meet their targets on an annual basis.

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In furtherance of the policy to expand the proportion of fixed rate housing loans, the Financial Services Commission implemented “Relief Debt Conversion” program from March 24 to March 27, 2015 and from March 30 to April 3, 2015, respectively, under which borrowers of eligible housing loans (namely, loans that have been in existence for one year or more since the original loan date, with no delinquency in the past six months, with principal amounts of W 500 million or less and for houses valued at W 900 million or less that are on a floating rate basis and/or an interest payment only basis) might convert such loans to new fixed rate loans in respect of which the borrowers would be required to repay the principal and interest in installment for a term of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years without a grace period, provided that the new loans pass the maximum loan-to-value ratio of 70% (irrespective of the location of the property) and the maximum debt-to-income ratio of 60% (only in respect of apartment units located in the greater Seoul metropolitan area, subject to certain exceptions). The borrowers were allowed to convert the original loans only at the banks that extended such loans. The banks holding the newly converted fixed rate loans are required to sell such loans to Korea Housing Finance Corporation, a government-controlled entity, which will then securitize such loans and issue mortgage-backed securities (backed by such loans) to be purchased by the banks who sold the loans in proportion to the amounts of the loans sold, and the banks will be required to hold such securities for a period of one year, after which the bank can sell or dispose of such securities in the market or otherwise. According to the Financial Supervisory Commission, under this program, approximately 345,000 borrowers converted loans in the aggregate amount of W 31.5 trillion to fixed rate loans, of which Shinhan Bank accounted for approximately 13.6%. Due in large part to such initiatives, fixed interest rate loans and installment principal repayment-based loans accounted for 33.6% and 37.5%, respectively, of the total housing loans extended by commercial banks in Korea as of September 30, 2015, according to data published by the Government in December 2015. Fixed interest rate and installment principal repayment-based housing loans accounted for 36.2% and 39.1%, respectively, of the housing loans extended by Shinhan Bank as of December 31, 2015, exceeding the Government’s target proportions for 2015.

In the event that market interest rates increase from those applicable during this program’s implementation in March and April 2015, we may experience valuation or realization losses on the mortgage-backed securities to be held by Shinhan Bank. Due to the prevailing interest rate environment and other market conditions, we also may not be able to sell or otherwise dispose of the mortgage backed securities in the market or otherwise in amounts or at prices commercially reasonable to us. In addition, as a result of this program we may incur additional costs from recalibrating our asset portfolio and asset-liability management policy. Any of these developments could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We, on a voluntary basis, may factor the existence of the Government’s policies and encouragements into consideration in making loans although the ultimate decision whether to make loans remains with us and is made based on our internal credit approval procedures and risk management systems independently of Government policies. In addition, in tandem with providing additional loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises and low-income individuals, Shinhan Bank takes active steps to mitigate the potential adverse impacts from making bad loans to enterprises or individuals with high risk profiles as a result of such arrangement, such as by strengthening its loan review and post-lending monitoring processes. However, we cannot assure you that such arrangement did not or will not, or similar or other government-led initiatives in the future will not, result in a suboptimal allocation of our loan portfolio from a risk-reward perspective compared to what we would have allocated based on purely commercial decisions in the absence of such initiatives. The Government may implement similar or other initiatives in the future to spur the overall economy or encourage the growth of targeted industries or relief to certain segments of the population. Specifically, the Government may introduce lending-related initiatives or enforce existing ones in a heightened fashion during times when small- and medium-sized enterprises or low-income households on average are facing an increased level of financial distress or vulnerability due to an economic downturn, which makes lending to them in the volume and the manner suggested by the Government even riskier and less commercially desirable. Accordingly, such policy-driven lending may create enhanced difficulties for us in terms of risk management, deterioration of our asset quality and reduced earnings, compared to what would have been in the absence of such initiatives, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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The Government may also encourage investments in certain institutions in furtherance of policy objectives, and we may not recoup our investments therein in a timely or otherwise commercially reasonable manner.

In addition to targeted lending, the Government may from time to time encourage or request the financial institutions in Korea, including us and our subsidiaries, to make investments in, or provide other forms of financial support to, certain institutions in furtherance of the Government’s policy objectives. In response thereto, we have made and will continue to make the ultimate decision on whether, how and to what extent we will comply with such encouragements or requests based on our internal risk assessment and in accordance with our risk management systems and policies. At the same time, as a leading member of the financial service industry in Korea and as a responsible corporate citizen we will also fully give due consideration to such encouragements or requests from the Government, especially in relation to the long-term benefit arising from furthering the policy objective of maintaining a sound financial system, even if complying with such requests may involve additional short-term costs and risks to a limited extent.

For example, to deal with a growing number of non-performing loans in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, the Government sponsored the establishment of United Asset Management Company Ltd. (“UAMCO”) in October 2009 through capital contributions from six major policy and commercial banks, namely Shinhan Bank, Kookmin Bank, KEB Hana Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Woori Bank and Nonghyup Bank. Shinhan Bank has committed to contribute W 175 billion of capital to UAMCO, of which W 85 billion has been contributed to date. As of the date hereof, Shinhan Bank holds a 17.5% equity interest in UAMCO, while five other policy and commercial banks each holds an interest ranging from 15.0% to 17.5%.

UAMCO seeks to achieve financial improvement of struggling companies through a wide range of restructuring programs, including debt restructuring, capital injection, asset sales, corporate reorganization, workouts and liquidation and bankruptcy proceedings. UAMCO is the largest purchaser in Korea of non-performing financial assets generally. Shinhan Bank sold non-performing assets to UAMCO in the amount of W 89.8 billion, W 326.1 billion and W 39.1 billion in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.

The Government originally planned to dispose of UAMCO during 2015 and establish a new company that specializes in corporate restructuring, but the Government scrapped such plans and instead decided to reorganize UAMCO and expand its restructuring business. As part of an effort to strengthen its balance sheet, UAMCO has recently announced its intention to receive additional capital contributions from two new shareholders, Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and two of the existing shareholders, Woori Bank and Nonghyup Bank, by the end of June 2016. With an enlarged capital base following the planned capital contributions, it is expected that UAMCO will play a more active role in the restructuring of the Korean corporate sector. The Government is also considering an amendment of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act of Korea to facilitate the business activities of UAMCO.

If UAMCO is successful in its expanded restructuring activities, it is anticipated that financial institutions including us will be able to further enhance their financial soundness by transferring more non-performing loans to UAMCO rather than directly engaging in the restructuring activities of the troubled borrowers. However, Shinhan Bank or other banks may be requested by the Government to make additional capital contributions or loans to UAMCO, which may entail unanticipated costs. Additionally, given the generally poor quality of our non-performing assets, there is no assurance that we will be able to sell such assets held by us to UAMCO on commercially reasonable terms and on a timely basis. Furthermore, there is no assurance that in furtherance of similar or other policy objectives, the Government may not request or otherwise encourage us or our subsidiaries to provide similar or other investments or provide other financial support for which we are not duly compensated or otherwise take up additional risk that we would not normally have undertaken, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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The level and scope of government oversight of our retail lending business, particularly regarding mortgage and home equity loans, may change depending on the economic or political climate.

Real estate comprises the most significant asset for a substantial number of households in Korea, and the movements of the housing price have generally had a significant impact on the direction of domestic economy. Accordingly, regulating housing prices, either in terms of attempting to stem actual or anticipated excessive speculation during times of a suspected housing price bubble and spur the pricing and/or volume of real estate transactions during times of a depressed real estate market by way of tax subsidy, guidelines to lending institutions or otherwise, has been a key policy initiative for the Government.

For example, during the early to mid-2000s, the Government adopted several regulatory measures, including in relation to retail banking, to stem a rise in speculation in real estate investments generally and in select areas. Some of the measures undertaken in the past include requiring financial institutions to impose stricter debt-to-income ratio and loan-to-value ratio requirements for mortgage loans for real property located in areas deemed to have engaged in a high level of speculation, raising property tax on real estate transactions for owners of multiple residential units, adopting a ceiling on the sale price of newly constructed housing units and recommending that commercial banks restrain from making further mortgage and home equity lending, among others. In addition, amid a prolonged slump in the housing market in Korea, in April 2013, the Government announced the Real Estate Comprehensive Countermeasure, which provides, among other things, for (i) reduced capital gains tax and (ii) exemption of acquisition tax for first-time homebuyers. In addition, in November 2013, the Government announced a permanent reduction in acquisition tax, with retrospective application from August 2013. Prior to such reduction, acquisition tax was assessed on a differentiated scale based on whether the homebuyer was purchasing a primary home or a secondary home, with the former being assessed an acquisition tax of 2% for the purchase of homes under W 900 million and 4% for homes exceeding W 900 million, and the latter being assessed an acquisition tax of 4% regardless of the price of the home. Under the new regulatory structure, the differentiated tax scale for primary homes and secondary homes is eliminated, and all homebuyers are assessed an acquisition tax of 1% for the purchase of homes under W 600 million, 2% for homes exceeding W 600 million but less than W 900 million and 3% for homes exceeding W 900 million. Furthermore, in February 2014, the Financial Services Commission announced that it plans to increase the proportion of fixed interest rate loans and installment principal repayment-based loans within the total housing loans extended by commercial banks. See “—The Government may encourage targeted lending to certain sectors in furtherance of policy objectives, and we may take this factor into account.” In addition, in order to rationalize the regulations on the housing loans, the Financial Supervisory Service provided the administrative instructions in July 2014 that all financial institutions including banks under the Banking Act are subject to the maximum loan-to-value ratio of 70% (irrespective of the location of the property) and the maximum debt-to-income ratio of 60% (only in respect of apartment units located in the greater Seoul metropolitan area, subject to certain exceptions), from August 1, 2014. Furthermore, in December 2014 the National Assembly also passed several bills that are designed to stimulate the real estate market.

While any Government measure that is designed to stimulate growth in the real estate sector may result in growth of, and improved profitability for, our retail lending business (particularly with respect to mortgage and home equity loans) at least for the short term, such measure could also result in unintended consequences, including potentially excessive speculation resulting in a “bubble” for the Korean real estate market and a subsequent market crash. In contrast, if the Government were to change the direction of its stimulative measures (for example, in order to preemptively curtail an actual or anticipated bubble in the real estate market), such change in policy may result in a contraction of the real estate market, a decline in real estate prices and consequently, a reduction in the growth of, and profitability for, our retail and/or other lending businesses, as well as otherwise have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations or profitability. See “— Risks Relating to Our Banking Business — A decline in the value of the collateral securing our loans or our inability to fully realize the collateral value may adversely affect our credit portfolio.”

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Risks Relating to Korea

Unfavorable financial and economic conditions in Korea and globally may have a material adverse impact on our asset quality, liquidity and financial performance.

We are incorporated in Korea, where most of our assets are located and most of our income is generated. As a result, we are subject to political, economic, legal and regulatory risks specific to Korea, and our business, results of operations and financial condition are substantially dependent on developments relating to the Korean economy. As Korea’s economy is highly dependent on the health and direction of the global economy, and investors’ reactions to developments in one country can have adverse effects on the securities price of companies in other countries, we are also subject to the fluctuations of the global economy and financial markets. Factors that determine economic and business cycles in the Korean or global economy are for the most part beyond our control and inherently uncertain. In addition to discussions of recent developments regarding the global economic and market uncertainties and the risks relating to us as provided elsewhere in this section, factors that could have an adverse impact on Korea’s economy in the future include, among others: