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| Korea Investment & Securities headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Korea Investment & Securities |
KakaoBank share would make company country's largest brokerage
By Anna J. Park
Korea Investment & Securities is expected to take over a significant stake in KakaoBank, currently held by its parent company as well as its affiliate. If that happens, the brokerage firm could become the country's top brokerage company with the most capital.
Currently, Korea Investment Holdings ― the parent company of Korea Investment ― holds a 4-percent stake in KakaoBank, while Korea Investment Value Asset Management ― a subsidiary of Korea Investment ― owns 23.18 percent of the digital bank. Altogether, Korea Investment's related companies hold a 27.18-percent stake in the internet-only bank, making them the second largest shareholder of KakaoBank, following Kakao.
The market speculation over Korea Investment's plan to take over the stake started in September when it asked the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for an approval assessment to increase the maximum size of its KakaoBank stake.
While the top financial regulator is still in talks over the matter, Korea Investment Holdings announced earlier this week that the FSC's decision hasn't yet been confirmed, and nothing has been determined about the takeover of KakaoBank shares among the affiliates.
Despite the financial holding company's attempt to remain tight-lipped about the issue, market watchers say that if the takeover happens and Korea Investment takes all stakes held by its parent company and the subsidiary, it could become the country's top player, holding as much as 9 trillion won ($6.82 billion).
As of the third quarter of this year, Korea Investment's owned capital stood at 6.26 trillion won, trailing behind Mirae Asset Securities' 9.03 trillion won and NH Investment's 6.8 trillion won.
Originally, Korea Investment Holdings was the largest shareholder of KakaoBank with a 50-percent stake. But it sold portions of its stake to both Kakao and Korea Investment Value Asset Management, due to limitations stipulated by local law on financial holding companies.
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