Kbank posts record quarterly profit in Q2

Headquarters of internet-only lender Kbank in central Seoul / Courtesy of Kbank

Kbank said Wednesday that it posted a net profit of 68.2 billion won ($49.2 million) in the second quarter, a record high for quarterly earnings since its 2017 launch as Korea’s first internet-only bank.

The April-June net profit represents a 96.3 percent increase from the same period last year.

The bank said its deposit balance rose 22.5 percent year-on-year to 26.8 trillion won, while its loan balance grew 10.8 percent over the same period to reach 17.4 trillion won.

“The record-high quarterly profit was made possible through the growth of customer banking, with a notable increase in loans to individual business owners and strong asset quality management,” the bank said.

“We will continue to pursue stable growth and enhanced profitability by strengthening product competitiveness and implementing sophisticated credit risk management.”

However, regarding its first-half performance, the bank said its net profit dipped 1.3 percent year-on-year to 84.2 billion won.

In the first half of 2024, the bank posted a net profit of 85.4 billion won, which was the highest for any corresponding period since its founding.

For the second half, Kbank said it will continue increasing the amount available for loans to individual business owners as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, and also pursue commercialization of stablecoin-related services.

It said it has been conducting a proof of concept for cross-border remittances between Korea and Japan using stablecoins. A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by pegging it to a fiat currency, such as the U.S. dollar.

Korea has been accelerating discussions around legalizing a won-based stablecoin under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

In July, the bank filed for a trademark concerning the proof of concept project. It additionally established a special task force to focus on research and development for business models related to digital assets.