By Chung Min-uck
KB (Kookmin Bank) is a leading figure in Korean banking despite changes in the business environment and within itself.
KB had total assets of 268 trillion won as of the end of this March. It also had over 26 million won account users, meaning more than half the country’s population have accounts with the Bank.
Yet, KB is far from satisfied. During his inauguration ceremony in July 2010 new CEO Min Byung-duk warned that KB should change its management style according to the fast-transforming environment in the financial sector.
Since then he has been implementing his new management slogan ― “Change Management, Deep Change Management.”
Change Management is a method of changing the mind-set, old practices and systems at KB to overcome internal and external crises and in turn sustain stable earnings.
Deep Change Management is an effort to alter the fundamentals of KB into a customer-oriented bank.
As a result, KB showed a 25.4 percent increase in its first quarter net profit year-on-year, to record 740.5 billion won. KB states that the fundamental changes in management style that the bank has been pushing forward are finally paying off.
KB also has been receiving a favorable evaluation, both inside and outside Korea. The innovations to stress face-to-face management of customers let KB gain another No.1 spot in the 2010 National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) ― KB has been ranked in first place for five years in a row.
And at the beginning of this year international credit rating agencies such as Moody’s and S&P rated KB Bank’s credit at A1 and A, respectively, with regard to KB’s 1,141 branches nationwide and its sound balance sheet.
KB is also equipped with high quality Internet and mobile services ready to serve customers ― it is now at the top in terms of Smartphone banking.