For years, companies have turned to celebrities to brighten up their brands. Now, banks are stepping up the trend, choosing their stars as wise investments.

Banks are seeking out the sports and TV celebrities with particularly inspiring personal histories, such as figure skater Kim Yu-na, rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae and presenter Song Hae.

“Trust and stability are the two things that a financial company wants to show, but rushing contracts with fancy stars without future potential can be a risky investment,” a KB Financial Group spokesperson said.

KB Financial Group has been one of the forerunners of sports star-marketing, signing sponsorship contracts with Kim Yu-na, Son Yeon-jae, swimmer Park Tae-hwan and LPGA golfer Park In-bee.

As these KB-sponsored players grew up to lead the global arena, the financial group’s marketing investment has hit the jackpot as well, banking sources said.

KB signed a sponsorship contract with Kim when she was a high school sophomore and with Son when she was a third grader in middle school ― when not many people were sure of their potential.

Kim receives about 1 billion won ($970,000) a year from KB, according to local news reports, although the lender refused to disclose the exact contract arrangements with its sports stars.

KB said the annual marketing effect is worth at least five times more than what the bank pays her.

Son raised her marketing value by winning three more golds on June 7 at the Asian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Similarly, KB-sponsored golfer Park In-bee won the Wegman’s LPGA Championship in New York on June 8, KB will be able to enjoy a marketing boost under the same sponsorship conditions.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Bank of Korea has signed a contract with Song Hae, the host of the KBS National Singing Contest since 1980.

The 86-year-old Song’s good-old-faithful image best portrays a powerful message on timeless trust, an IBK spokesperson said.

As of the end of 2012, the IBK had 443 new clients who entrusted about 124.5 billion won since Song appeared on IBK’s advertisements, according to the bank. The bank emphasized that about 80 percent of these new clients, mostly in their 60s and older, had not once used IBK’s banking service before.

Although the bank declined to reveal the what it paid Song, it said the “Song marketing” was enormously profitable.

“Choosing Song was like a ‘god’s revelation,” an IBK spokesperson said, noting that sports stars and popular TV celebrities were also discussed as IBK’s models.

IBK’s “Song commercial” won the judges’ award for the 2012 Best Advertisement Award.

“Our branches sent us a number of moving feedback messages from our clients. Some said they were inspired by how an aged man like Song can still be actively engaged in social activities,” the IBK spokesperson said, pointing out that a commercial is now about stories and inspirations.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)