This year's testamentary trust sales surpass 1 trillion won

Bank vows to strengthen edge as 'asset management specialist'

Story-recording service offered to enrolled customers through Nov. 30

[Shinhan Bank]
[Shinhan Bank]

Shinhan Bank's cumulative testamentary trust balance has surpassed 1.5 trillion won ($1.1 billion), as growing interest in managing so-called "dementia money" and transferring assets to heirs — driven by South Korea's aging population — continues to fuel demand for trust services.

The balance reached 1.5027 trillion won this month, up roughly 3.2 times from 459.3 billion won at the end of last year, according to Shinhan Bank. Cumulative sales this year have also exceeded 1 trillion won, more than tripling compared with last year.

To mark the milestone, Shinhan Bank said it would offer testamentary trust customers access to a story-recording service through Nov. 30, allowing them to preserve photos, voice messages and videos.

The first 600 new enrollees in the Shinhan SOL Mate testamentary trust product, as well as all existing standard-contract customers, will receive a voucher for "Alive," a digital storytelling service operated by Swen.

Using the voucher, customers can upload photos, voice messages and videos to a personal story page on the Alive platform.

Shinhan Bank said the initiative is designed to help customers leave not only their assets but also cherished memories and messages for their families.

Since launching its specialized trust business in earnest in 2015, Shinhan Bank has worked to broaden access to testamentary trusts by eliminating minimum enrollment amounts and introducing a simplified contract process. The bank has also rolled out a dementia-care trust product and built a fast-enrollment system for fixed-term deposits.

"We will continue to expand differentiated trust solutions tailored to customers' life cycles and diverse asset management needs, strengthening our competitiveness as a specialist asset management bank," a Shinhan Bank official said.


forest@heraldcorp.com