Industrial Bank of Korea's Profitability Could Improve on Stronger NIM — Market Talk

Industrial Bank of Korea's profitability could improve on stronger-than-expected net interest margins, Daiwa Capital's Mike Oh and Daeho Son say. The analysts raise their 2026 EPS forecast for the South Korean lender by 4.5% to reflect the favorable NIM environment. Still, they caution that the bank's valuation gap with its local peers could be difficult to close in the near term despite management's efforts to improve shareholder returns, citing weak earnings generation. IBK maintains its 2026 small- and medium-enterprise loan growth target of 12 trillion won. However, it could face stronger competition, as other commercial banks are set to increase corporate lending, they add. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)