[Click eStock] "K-Bank to Expand Loan Capacity by 10 Trillion Won at IPO"

Korea Investment & Securities stated on the 19th that K-Bank is expected to strengthen its mid- to long-term growth drivers through an IPO.

Since deciding to re-pursue the IPO through a board resolution in January, the lead underwriters were selected in February, and the company is currently preparing to file for preliminary listing review in the first half of this year, making a listing within the year possible.

Even when applying an appropriate discount rate to the expected corporate value mentioned in the market, assuming a typical 10% range public offering ratio commonly applied in fintech company IPOs, sufficient capital inflow is anticipated.

It is expected that the utilization of existing raised funds will increase, enabling additional growth. Regardless of the size of the public offering, the common equity capital under Basel III is expected to increase separately by 725 billion KRW upon IPO.

Among the capital raised through a rights offering to multiple private equity firms in 2021, 725 billion KRW includes call options, tag-along rights, and put options.

However, if the IPO proceeds, the tag-along rights will expire, making it highly likely that the corresponding funds will be recognized as common equity capital. If the entire amount is recognized as common equity capital, the net increase capacity of loan balances will expand by 9.8 trillion KRW.

Even before the IPO, throughout this year, a strong loan growth, platform business enhancement, and asset soundness improvement are expected to ensure a performance turnaround. Net profit for this year is projected at 78.8 billion KRW, a 383% increase compared to the previous year. The average annual net profit growth rate from 2022 to 2025 is expected to reach 17%.

At the end of 2023, the total mortgage loans (including jeonse loans) amounted to 4.9 trillion KRW, a 114% increase compared to the same period last year. As of the end of January this year, the mortgage loan balance was 5.6 trillion KRW, a 13% increase from the previous month. Hyeran Hongye-ran, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, stated, "Robust mortgage loan growth is expected to continue this year due to the influx of new and dormant customers, excellent interest rate competitiveness, increased deposits through Upbit, and enhanced customer convenience in loan services through the launch of refinancing loan infrastructure."