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Kbank vows to lead non-face-to-face financial innovation following IPO
Kbank CEO Choi Woo-hyung speaks during a press conference at Conrad Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Internet-only bank expects more than 1 trillion won in capital inflow
Kbank expects to raise over 1 trillion won ($734 million) through its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for Oct. 30, the bank's CEO Choi Woo-hyung said, Tuesday. He stated that these funds will be focused strategically on three key areas — retail banking, small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending and platform development — in order to accelerate the bank’s growth.
“We plan to use the capital raised from the IPO to advance three key growth strategies — retail banking, SME lending and platform development — as well as enhance risk management and technology,” Choi said during a press conference in Seoul.
“By doing so, Kbank aims to further promote inclusive finance and drive financial innovation.”
The high-profile IPO of the nation’s first internet-only bank consists of a total of 82 million shares, with the expected offering price per share ranging from 9,500 won to 12,000 won.
Based on the upper end of this range, the total amount raised through the IPO is expected to reach 984 billion won.
Once the listing on the country’s main KOSPI exchange is completed, the 725 billion won raised from the previous paid-in capital increase will also be recognized as part of its capital when calculating the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) capital adequacy ratio. As a result, the bank expects a capital inflow effect exceeding 1 trillion won from the listing.
The company will finalize its IPO price this Friday. There will be a public subscription from Monday to Tuesday. The listing date is set for Oct. 30.
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Choi said that in the retail sector, Kbank plans to launch competitive demand deposit accounts and specialized deposit products tailored to customer needs, noting that this strategy will help the bank establish an efficient funding structure.
The bank intends to further expand its business loan portfolio in the small office and home office (SOHO) and SME markets.
Additionally, the firm is pursuing a so-called "open ecosystem strategy," which focuses on building partnership ecosystems through collaborations with leading companies in various industries, rather than relying on specific large platforms or affiliates. This approach aims to expand its platform business effectively.
Choi highlighted that the bank has introduced a variety of innovative non-face-to-face financial products, including the country’s first fully online apartment mortgage, since its launch in April 2017.
The firm has experienced rapid growth in both its customer base and deposits. It has a total of 12.04 million customers as of September this year, while its deposit balance stood at approximately 22 trillion won and loan balance at 16 trillion won, as of the first half of this year.
It achieved its first profit in 2021 and has maintained a streak of three consecutive years of profitability. In the first half of this year alone, the bank reported a net profit of 85.4 billion won, marking the highest performance for a half-year period in its history.