Hana Financial Group Inc., the country's fourth-largest lender, said Sunday it has reached a deal to buy a U.S.-based bank to expand its overseas market presence.
Under the deal with BNB Financial Services, which is the holding company for Broadway National Bank (BNB), Hana will take over a 71 percent stake in the commercial lender. The bank and holding company will become part of Hana Financial after the contract is approved by Seoul's Financial Supervisory Service and the U.S. Federal Reserve.
BNB operates in New York, and primarily handles financial services for the large Korean community in the North American country. It is the only lender set up by Koreans that has been recognized as a National Bank by the U.S. federal government.
Hana said taking over BNB Bank will allow it to expand retail operations in the large U.S. financial market.