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| 2026-02-05 13:15:18
K-Bank-IPO
S. Korea's 1st web-only bank to go public next month
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's first internet-only bank, K-Bank, announced Thursday plans to go public next month after previously delaying or nixing its initial public offering (IPO) on three occasions.
"We will focus on growth with the goal of accomplishing a return on equity of 15 percent," Choi Woo-hyoung, the bank's chief executive officer, said in a press conference. "The bank will become the leader of financial innovation in South Korea."
Founded in 2016, K-Bank was established as the first web-only bank in the country amid government efforts to fuel competition and deregulation in the financial sector. It is run by mobile service operator KT Corp.
As of last year, K-Bank had 15.5 million customers, while its outstanding loans and deposits each stood at 18.4 trillion won (US$12.6 billion) and 28.4 trillion won, respectively, according to the bank.
K-Bank plans to use the IPO proceeds to invest in future businesses, such as digital assets, while expanding the lineup of financial products provided on its platform to include investments like gold and alternative assets.
In the case of virtual assets, the bank is reviewing partnerships with Thailand and the United Arab Emirates to establish infrastructure for money transfer and payment systems based on stablecoins.
The bank also plans to enter the small and medium-sized enterprise business while boosting shareholder returns through investor-friendly policies.
"We plan to actively review policies to improve investors' interests, such as the introduction of dividends and cancellation of treasury stocks," Choi said.
Under its IPO, K-Bank plans to offer 60 million shares at a price between 8,300 won and 9,500 won. The bank is expected to debut on the benchmark KOSPI market March 5.
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