Yoon Ho-young, CEO of KakaoBank, Expresses Ambition to "Create Innovation Across Finance" at Press Conference on the 20th
"Expanding Platform Business into Funds, Insurance, and Asset Management, and Launching 100% Mortgage Loans Within the Year"
Institutional Investor Demand Forecast Begins Today... Market Capitalization Draws Intense Attention
[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] "I believe innovation is when customers use a service frequently and extensively. From this perspective, the number one financial platform in Korea is KakaoBank."
Yoon Ho-young, CEO of KakaoBank, expressed confidence ahead of the company's initial public offering (IPO), stating, "We will become the number one retail bank." He aimed to quell recent controversies over 'overvaluation' and emphasized the growth potential of internet-only banks.
He also revealed ambitions to expand the current business areas?such as credit cards, stock accounts, and linked loans?into funds, insurance, and asset management, while accelerating growth based on a user base of 16.15 million as of the first quarter of this year.
At a press conference on the 20th, CEO Yoon emphasized differentiation from existing business models, saying, "KakaoBank's banking business and platform business have grown synergistically, creating a unique mechanism that other operators have never tried." His growth goal is to become the "number one retail bank, number one financial platform."
KakaoBank's account transfer amount in the first quarter of this year reached 79.1 trillion KRW, marking a 160% increase compared to 49.33 trillion KRW in the same period last year. The customer age groups are also diversifying. Notably, through KakaoBank Mini, a product exclusively for teenagers, the bank has secured a significant number of customers in their teens, a future growth engine. The proportion of customers aged 50 and above, who have strong purchasing power, has increased significantly from 9% in 2017 to 15% currently.
CEO Yoon stressed, "KakaoBank's customer base differs from other financial companies and fintech operators not only in scale but also in quality," adding, "KakaoBank's demand deposit accounts maintain substantial balances, indicating that they are becoming primary transaction accounts."
KakaoBank plans to launch financial products and services linked to various industries such as e-commerce and travel. It will also introduce financial products targeting new customer segments, including individual business owners and foreigners. Additionally, the company intends to explore business opportunities in areas such as the MyData business, global market expansion, B2B solution sales for core technologies like OCR technology that recognizes text on ID cards, and facial recognition technology.
Institutional Investor Demand Forecast Conducted on the 20th... IPO Process in Full Swing
One of the key business areas emphasized by CEO Yoon is inclusive finance, covering from high credit to medium and low credit customers. To this end, KakaoBank plans to launch various loan products next month, including new credit loans for medium and low credit customers and loans for individual business owners (SOHO). The bank also announced plans to implement and release a '100% mobile' mortgage loan within this year.
CEO Yoon stated, "KakaoBank has grown to its current level with just credit loans and jeonse deposit loans, but there are still many core loan products that have not been handled yet, so the growth potential is high," adding, "We plan to expand our core product lineup, including in-house medium credit loans, mortgage loans, and SOHO loans, and also expand our customer base to include individual business owners and foreigners."
Regarding global market expansion, he said, "In the past, a few Asian companies proposed establishing mobile banks in certain countries through joint ventures, but at that time, due to capital limitations and focus on domestic business, it was difficult to respond," adding, "With capital secured through the IPO, if such opportunities arise again, we will actively consider them in Asia and overseas."
Meanwhile, KakaoBank will issue 65.45 million new shares through the IPO. The expected price range per share is 33,000 to 39,000 KRW. The company aims to raise up to approximately 2.5526 trillion KRW. The offering price will be finalized on the 22nd, and subscription will take place on the 26th and 27th. General investors can subscribe through KB Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Hana Financial Investment, and Hyundai Motor Securities. The scheduled listing date is the 6th of next month.
KakaoBank is actively countering 'bubble' controversies. In a revised securities registration statement submitted the day before, it selected four comparable companies: U.S. retail lending platform Rocket Companies, Russia's digital bank Tinkoff Bank's largest shareholder TCS Holdings, Sweden's digital financial platform Nordnet, and Brazilian fintech PagSeguro, excluding domestic commercial banks. CEO Yoon declared, "We will achieve innovation beyond banking across the entire financial sector," signaling a commitment to differentiation.
Regarding the relationship with KakaoPay, which is going public around the same time, CEO Yoon said, "Both companies share the goal of becoming Korea's number one and two financial platform operators, but the paths are different," adding, "KakaoBank holds a banking license and aims to become a platform operator based on that, while KakaoPay holds securities and insurance licenses and aims to become a platform operator through payment gateways."
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