KakaoBank Achieves Record High Performance for 7 Consecutive Years... Last Year's Net Profit Reaches 354.9 Billion Won

34.9% Increase Year-on-Year
Improvements in NIM and CIR
"Leading Not Only in Customer Growth but Also in Inclusive Finance"

KakaoBank recorded its highest annual performance seven years after its launch. Last year's net profit increased by 35% compared to 2022. It has shown strong growth by setting new records every year.

KakaoBank announced on the 7th that it recorded sales of 2.494 trillion KRW, operating profit of 478.5 billion KRW, and net profit of 354.9 billion KRW last year. Compared to the same period last year (1.6058 trillion KRW, 353.2 billion KRW, 263.1 billion KRW), these figures represent increases of 55.31%, 35.48%, and 34.9%, respectively.

Key management indicators also showed stable figures. As of the fourth quarter of last year, deposit balances increased by about 14 trillion KRW from the end of the previous year to approximately 47.1 trillion KRW. Loan balances also rose by about 10.8 trillion KRW from the end of the previous year to about 38.7 trillion KRW. The net interest margin (NIM), which indicates the bank's profitability, declined from 2.62% in the first quarter of last year to 2.26% in the second quarter but improved to 2.31% in the third quarter and 2.36% in the fourth quarter. The cost-to-income ratio (CIR), an indicator used to assess the bank's productivity and management efficiency, improved from 42.6% in 2022 to 37.3% last year. A lower CIR indicates better efficiency. The delinquency rate decreased from 0.58% in the first quarter to 0.49% in the fourth quarter last year.

KakaoBank explained that the number of customers continues to grow steadily despite already surpassing 20 million. Since there are no offline branches, the number of online customers attracted is one of the criteria for judging the competitiveness of an internet bank. As of the fourth quarter of last year, the number of customers was 22.84 million, about a 12% increase compared to 20.42 million in the same period the previous year. Last month, it exceeded 23 million. This growth is attributed to product launches such as the ‘One-Month Savings’ which surpassed 1 million subscribers in about 25 days after launch, and ‘Coupon Trading’ which gathered 550,000 users within one month.

In particular, customers were evenly attracted across all age groups rather than a specific age range. As of the end of last year, the penetration rate by age group (the ratio of KakaoBank customers to the population by age) increased in all age groups compared to the end of 2022. The penetration rate for those under their teens rose from 28% to 32%, for those in their 40s from 59% to 67%, for those in their 50s from 35% to 44%, and for those aged 60 and above from 8% to 12%.

KakaoBank emphasized that it not only set a record for its highest performance but also took the lead in inclusive finance. First, it achieved its target of 30% for mid-to-low credit loans. As of the end of December last year, the balance of mid-to-low credit loans was 4.3 trillion KRW, an increase of more than 1 trillion KRW compared to 3.2 trillion KRW the previous year. It also participated in the ‘Banking Sector Livelihood Finance Support Plan’ for small business owners, handling 37.2 billion KRW out of the total approximately 2 trillion KRW resources provided by the banking sector.

A KakaoBank official said, “As the customer base expands, KakaoBank is becoming a 'must-have financial life app' frequently used by people of all ages and genders,” adding, “Going forward, KakaoBank will introduce new products and services such as the '100% Non-face-to-face Home Loan' and 'Foreign Exchange Products' to connect finance and daily life more conveniently.”