Hana Financial Group Inc.'s flagship bank units -- Hana Bank and the Korea Exchange Bank -- are swiftly moving to wrap up their merger after receiving regulatory approval earlier this week, according to the two banks Friday.
  

On Wednesday, the Financial Services Commission gave its final nod for the two lenders to merge into an integrated unit called "KEB Hana Bank," paving the way for the creation of the country's largest commercial bank by assets.
  

The new unit's launch is scheduled for Sept. 1.
  

The two lenders have been moving to meet the schedule by setting up a special unit that will oversee the final stage of the integration. A total of 63 managers, including 35 from Hana and 26 from KEB, have been dispatched to the taskforce.
  

The first president to head the merged unit is expected to be named later this month, with incumbent presidents at the two lenders considered as candidates.

Following the merger, KEB Hana Bank is expected to have 290 trillion won ($244 billion) assets under its wing, outnumbering rivals Kookmin Bank with 282 trillion won and Shinhan Bank with 260 trillion won.
  

It will operate a nationwide network of 945 branches with 15,717 employees in addition to 24 overseas offices.
  

The Hana-KEB merger has been Hana Financial's long-coveted ambition since the banking group acquired smaller lender KEB from U.S. buyout fund Lone Star in 2012.
  

It had promised to run KEB as an independent unit for five years, but eventually pushed for the merger, citing bleak business prospects in the local banking industry.
  

Despite stiff opposition by KEB's labor union, the banking group filed a petition with the financial watchdog for the preliminary approval in January, but soon withdrew it as a Seoul court upheld the labor union's demand to stall the merger.
  

The FSC had stressed that labor-management agreement for the merger is a prerequisite for the integration.
  

In June, however, an appellate court ruled in favor of Hana Financial, paving the way for the group to resume talks with the KEB labor union.
  

The financial regulator turned supportive of the merger and quickened its review for the approval after Hana Financial gained consent from the labor union last month. (Yonhap)