Hana Financial Group Vice Chair Lee Eun-hyung, right, and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank CEO Xavier Musca pose at the signing ceremony for their MOU agreement held at the headquarters of Credit Agricole CIB in Montrouge, France, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Hana Financial Group has formed a strategic partnership with Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, aiming to help global businesses expand in Europe, the financial giant announced Friday.

Through the business agreement, the two companies plan to strengthen mutual cooperation across Europe in various sectors, including corporate and investment banking, treasury, trade financing and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) financing.

Their partnership also holds a particular significance, as both companies entered each other's markets in the same year in 1974 as the first banks from their respective countries to do so, exactly 50 years ago.

Hana Financial Group Vice Chair Lee Eun-hyung, fourth from left, poses with Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank CEO Xavier Musca, third from left, and other executives of the two financial groups at the signing ceremony for their memorandum of understanding at the headquarters of Credit Agricole CIB in Montrouge, France, Wednesday. Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung and Credit Agricole CIB's CEO Xavier Musca attended the signing ceremony of the MOU agreement held at the French financial group's headquarters located in Montrouge, France, on Wednesday local time.

Hana Financial Group explained that the talks for the collaboration between the two financial institutions began during Lee's visit to Credit Agricole's London branch last September, when the vice chairman proposed building the mutual strategic partnership in Europe.

"With the two financial firms each having built longstanding trust in Korea and France, joining hands together, the global standing of Hana Financial Group is expected to be further elevated in the European financial market. As the two institutions jointly celebrate the 50th anniversary of entering into markets of France and Korea, Hana Financial Group will make every effort to ensure that this agreement creates significant achievements and synergy for the next 50 years," Lee said.

Hana Bank is not only the first Korean bank to make a foray into France but also the first domestic lender to enter the European market. It opened its London branch in 1968 and has been operating its Paris branch since 1974. It has the largest number of channels in seven European countries, leading the Korean financial industry's advancement overseas.

Credit Agricole CIB is the investment banking arm of Credit Agricole Group, a leading financial group in France and Europe. Credit Agricole Group was the first French bank to open and operate a banking branch in Korea in 1974.

Following the agreement with Credit Agricole, Hana plans to accelerate business expansion in Europe. The IB desk and global fund center at its London branch will continue expanding. It will also keep channel expansion in Europe, including the opening of Budapest office in Hungary and a branch in Poland, scheduled to open around the end of this year, to create diverse synergetic effects in Europe.

Hana has been expanding the scope of its global business, advancing into 26 regions around the world. It has been bolstering partnership with top financial players in each region and sector since last year, including Taiwan's CTBC, State Bank of India and Saudi EXIM.