K Bank Submits Securities Registration Statement: "Will Further Strengthen Innovation and Inclusion"

On January 13, K Bank announced that it had submitted a securities registration statement to the Financial Services Commission for its listing on the Korea Exchange and has officially begun the public offering process.

K Bank, established in January 2016, is Korea’s first internet-only bank and offers a wide range of non-face-to-face financial products and services.

Its loan products include the industry’s first non-face-to-face apartment mortgage loan, non-face-to-face real estate secured loan for sole proprietors, as well as credit loans, jeonse loans, and business loans (credit and guarantee) for sole proprietors. For deposit products, K Bank offers savings and installment savings accounts, the “Plus Box” parking account with no limit on deposit amounts, and the “Challenge Box” for automatic savings.

Through partnerships, K Bank provides investment opportunities in a variety of assets, including listed stocks, initial public offerings, bonds, foreign exchange, virtual assets, and gold. In addition, the bank is leading innovation in the financial sector by advancing ID recognition technology using artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, and by implementing measures to prevent voice phishing.

K Bank has demonstrated both growth and profitability, recording a net profit of 12.8 billion won in 2023, 128.1 billion won in 2024, and 103.4 billion won as of the third quarter of 2025.

In this public offering, K Bank has established a shareholder-friendly structure. The total number of shares to be offered is 60 million. The indicative price range per share is between 8,300 and 9,500 won. Based on the upper end of the price range, the market capitalization after listing is expected to be around 4 trillion won. The maximum amount to be raised is 570 billion won.

K Bank selected major domestic and international internet banks as peer companies to determine a reasonable indicative price. KakaoBank in Korea and Rakuten Bank in Japan were chosen as comparables. Both companies have expanded their customer and business bases through a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) model, providing banking services and infrastructure to partner companies based on non-face-to-face operations.

Based on this peer group selection, K Bank’s indicative price is set at 1.38 to 1.56 times the price-to-book ratio (PBR). This is about 20% lower than the previous offering, reflecting current market expectations.

K Bank plans to use the funds raised from the public offering to further strengthen its commitment to innovative and inclusive finance. The bank will expand investments in four areas: entry into the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market, enhancement of technological differentiation, establishment of a platform business foundation, and entry into new businesses such as digital assets.

To enter the SME market, K Bank will upgrade its SME loan screening models and expand SME-specific products. The bank also plans to actively invest in upgrading its banking infrastructure and hiring related personnel. To enhance technological differentiation, K Bank will invest in AI infrastructure, improve app convenience, advance its information security systems, and modernize its development environment.

K Bank will also use the funds to build a platform business foundation. The bank aims to become a comprehensive investment platform by covering both traditional investment products such as stocks, bonds, foreign exchange, and virtual assets, as well as innovative alternative products, and by partnering with various e-commerce and lifestyle companies. Investments will also be increased in infrastructure and systems for digital asset trading and entry into new businesses.

The supply of loans to mid- and low-credit borrowers will also be expanded. K Bank plans to use the funds to upgrade its credit evaluation models for mid- and low-credit customers and strengthen its non-face-to-face data-based screening capabilities to enhance financial accessibility for borrowers with repayment ability.

In addition, K Bank will expand customized credit loan products for mid- and low-credit borrowers and continue to introduce products that can ease existing interest rate burdens, thereby strengthening its commitment to inclusive finance.

K Bank will conduct demand forecasting for domestic and overseas institutional investors from February 4 to 10, finalize the offering price, and hold the subscription for two days on February 20 and 23. The expected listing date is March 5.

The lead underwriters for K Bank’s IPO are NH Investment & Securities and Samsung Securities, with Shinhan Investment & Securities participating as a member of the underwriting syndicate.

A K Bank official stated, “We plan to invest the offering proceeds in securing capital adequacy, expanding entry into the SME market, building a platform business foundation, and entering new businesses to further strengthen our commitment to innovative and inclusive finance,” adding, “We will ensure thorough preparation to achieve proper corporate value recognition.”