Kbank seeks IPO for 3rd time as it lowers offering price by 20%

Kbank CEO Choi Woo-hyoung speaks during a press conference at Conrad Hotel Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Kbank

Kbank is seeking its third KOSPI-listing attempt with a sharp initial public offering (IPO) price cut of about 20 percent, in a move to lock in investor demand after two failed listings, the internet-only lender said Thursday.

The “highly conservative” pricing prioritizes market acceptance over ambition, reflecting challenging capital market conditions.

“The offering price is significantly discounted compared with the previous attempt, reducing investor burden and improving market receptiveness,” Kbank CEO Choi Woo-hyoung said during a press conference at Conrad Hotel Seoul.

“We have designed an IPO structure that is more realistic, factoring in current capital market conditions and ongoing valuation adjustments," he said.

The downsized IPO coincides with a broader revision in Korea’s capital markets, where high-growth financial and tech firms are increasingly forced to reset expectations amid higher interest rates and cautious institutional sentiment.

“For Kbank, the third attempt is less about maximizing valuation and more about ensuring execution,” he added.

Kbank plans to list on the benchmark KOSPI on March 5 and is conducting institutional book building through Tuesday. The final offering price will be set on Feb. 12, followed by retail investor subscriptions from Feb. 20 to 23 via NH Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities and Shinhan Investment.

The internet-only lender will offer 60 million shares at a per-share price range of between 8,300 won ($5.66) and 9,500 won, bringing the total offering to up to 570 billion won.

This is a notable revision from its 2024 IPO attempt, when its plan to sell over 80 million shares at a per-share price range of between 9,500 won and 12,000 won failed due to weak institutional investor demand.

The new price band will translate into a price-to-book ratio of about 1.38 to 1.56 times.

This will lead to post-listing market capitalization of between 3.3 trillion and 3.8 trillion won, around 1 trillion won below the previous target of 5 trillion won.

As of the end of 2025, it had 15.53 million customers, loans of 18.4 trillion won, and deposits totaling 28.4 trillion won. From 2020 to 2025, it recorded the highest average annual growth rates among domestic banks.

Its deposits grew 49.9 percent and loans 42.8 percent every year for the past five years on average.

If the listing is completed, about 725 billion won from past capital increases would become fully recognized as regulatory capital under Bank for International Settlements ratio rules.

Kbank said this would significantly strengthen its capital ratios and give more room to grow future lending businesses.