South Korea’s leading lender Shinhan Financial Group reported 65.4-percent year-on-year plunge in the bottom line for the fourth quarter upon reflecting one-time expenses from loss reserves for loans and employee’s voluntary early retirement scheme, but finished 2017 at its best in six years.

Shinhan Financial Group in a regulatory filing on Thursday said that it posted a net profit of 211.5 billion won ($194.4 million) on a consolidated basis for the fourth quarter ended December, down 65.4 percent from a year earlier. For full 2017, the financial group’s net profit rose 5.2 percent on year to 2.9 trillion won - its best after record-high of 3.1 billion won in 2011. Its bottom line has been increasing for four consecutive years.

Shares of Shinhan Financial Group Thursday ended up 0.4 percent at 49,600 won from the previous session.

Its fourth-quarter bottom line suffered from one-time expenses. Its units Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Card paid out 285 billion won in severance pay to nearly 900 employees to compensate for their early retirement. The bank booked 120 billion won in loss reserves for potential risky loans.

Shinhan Bank posted net profit of 1.7 trillion won for full 2017, down 11.8 percent on year. Shinhan Card’s net income jumped 27.6 percent on year to 913.8 billion won and while Shinhan Investment Corp.’s gained 83.6 percent to 211.9 billion won.

Its overseas businesses delivered net profit of 206.9 billion won, up 28.3 percent on year.

By Kim Tae-sung and Cho Jeehyun

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