As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 20152018

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form20-F

(Mark One)

OR

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20142017

OR

For the transition period from                    to                    

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report            

Commission File Number:001-31798

Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

20, Sejong-daero 9-gil, Jung-gu

Seoul 100-724,04513, Korea

(Address of principal executive offices)

Yu Sunghun, +822 6360 3071(T), irshy@shinhan.com, +822 6360 3098 (F), 20, Sejong-daero 9-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-724,04513, Korea

(Name, Telephone,E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of Shinhan Financial Group’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the last full fiscal year covered by this Annual Report: 474,199,587 shares of common stock, par value of Won 5,000 per share.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act:    Yes  x☒    No  ¨☐

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:    Yes  ¨☐    No  x☒

Note — Note—Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x☒    No  ¨☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of RegulationS-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ¨☒    No  ¨☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, anon-accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer.an emerging growth company. See definitionthe definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and large accelerated filer”“emerging growth company” in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer  x                 Accelerated filer  ¨                 Non-accelerated filer  ¨

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow:    Item 17  ¨☐    Item 18  ¨☐

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act):    Yes  ¨☐    No  x☒

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Section 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court:    Yes  ¨☐    No  ¨☐

TABLE OF CONTENTS

i

ii

CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS, CONVENTIONS AND CURRENCY OF PRESENTATION

Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires:

All references to “Korea” or the “Republic” contained in this annual report mean Theare to the Republic of Korea. All references to the “Government” meanare to the government of Thethe Republic of Korea. TheReferences to the “Financial Services Commission” are to the Financial Services Commission of Korea, and references to the “Financial Supervisory Service” are to the Financial Supervisory Service isof Korea, the executive body of the Financial Services Commission of Korea (“Financial Services Commission”). References to “MOSF” are to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of Korea.Commission.

The fiscal year for us and our subsidiaries ends on December 31 of each year, except Shinhan Savings Bank whose fiscal year ends on June 30 of each year. Unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, all references to a particular year are to the year ended December 31 of that year.

The currency of the primary economic environment in which we operate is Korean Won.

In this annual report, unless otherwise indicated, all references to “Won” or “W” are to the currency of Thethe Republic of Korea, and all references to “U.S. Dollars,” “Dollars,” “$” or “US$” are to the currency of the United States of America. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations from Won to Dollars were made atW1,090.91,067.4 to US$1.00, which was the noon buying rate in the City of New York on December 31, 201429, 2017 for cable transfers according to the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board (the “Noon Buying Rate”). On April 10, 2015,13, 2018, the Noon Buying Rate wasW1,093.11,070.6 to US$1.00. The Noon Buying Rate has been volatile recently and the U.S. Dollar amounts referred to in this report should not be relied upon as an accurate reflection of our results of operations. We expect this volatility to continue in the near future. No representation is made that the Won or U.S. Dollar amounts referred to in this report could have been or could be converted into Dollars or Won, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

Unless otherwise indicated, the financial information presented in this annual report has been prepared on a consolidated basis in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”).

Any discrepancies in the tables included herein between totals and sums of the amounts listed are due to rounding.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report includes “forward-looking statements,” as defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including statements regarding our expectations and projections for future operating performance and business prospects. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project” and similar words used in connection with any discussion of our future operating or financial performance identify forward-looking statements. In addition, all statements other than statements of historical facts included in this annual report are forward-looking statements.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. All forward-looking statements are management’s present expectations of future events and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that

could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. This

annual report discloses, under the caption “Item 3.D. Risk Factors” and elsewhere, important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations (“Cautionary Statements”). Included among the factors discussed under the caption “Item 3.D. Risk Factors” are the followings risks related to our business, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: the risk of adverse impacts from an economic downturn; increased competition; market volatility in securities and derivatives markets, interest or foreign exchange rates or indices; other factors impacting our operational plans; or legislative and/or regulatory developments. We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this annual report. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The selected consolidated income statement and balance sheet data set forth below for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 20142017 have been derived from our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB. Our consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 20142017 have been audited by independent registered public accounting firm KPMG Samjong Accounting Corp.

You should read the following data with the more detailed information contained in “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and our consolidated financial statements included in “Item 18. Financial Statements.” Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results.

Consolidated Income Statement Data

Notes:

(3)(2)

Basic earnings per share are calculated by dividing net income available to holders of our common shares by the weighted average number of common shares issued and outstanding for the relevant period.

(4)(3)

Dilutive earnings per share are calculated in a manner consistent with basic earnings per share, while giving effect to the potential dilution that could occur if convertible securities, options or other contracts to issue common shares were converted into or exercised for common shares. Common shares issuable upon conversion of redeemable convertible preferred shares are potentially dilutive.

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data