KakaoBank wins best digital bank award

KakaoBank's head office in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of KakaoBank

By Lee Min-hyung

KakaoBank has won a best digital bank award from an overseas finance magazine.

The mobile bank received Asia's Best Digital Bank award from Euromoney Awards for Excellence.

This is the first time that a Korean internet-only bank has won the award since the magazine established the category in 2016.

Euromoney spoke highly of KakaoBank's rapid earnings growth and its huge market dominance here. The mobile bank achieved a turnaround in 2019, about two years after its establishment.

The lender is a leading mobile bank in Korea with more than 18 million subscribers.

KakaoBank had 204.1 billion won in net profit last year, up 79.7 percent from the previous year, on interest profit growth.

The lender's growth is noteworthy. Its number of customers came in at 15.4 million as of the end of 2020, but soared to 18 million last year.

In April, KakaoBank was also picked as the Best Bank in Korea by Forbes.

KakaoBank is widening its customer base not just among the young generation of consumers, but also among older consumers. More than 70 percent of its new subscribers in the first quarter were those in their 40s. The age group accounts for 41 percent of the lender's total subscribers.

KakaoBank's earnings are on track for solid growth. The company reported a net profit of 66.8 billion won during the January-March period, up 43.2 percent from the previous year. This figure shows outstanding growth of 84.6 percent from a quarter earlier.

The lender is widely expected to generate decent earnings throughout this year on the back of interest rate hikes. KakaoBank is seeking to expand its sales portfolio into mortgage and business loans. The lender also plans to set up a more detailed global strategy for expansion into overseas territories.