Rapidly Growing K-Bank... Interest in Mid-Interest Rate Products in the Second Half of the Year

Surpassing 3 Million Cumulative Subscribers Recently
Riding the Cryptocurrency Wave and Sailing Smoothly

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Internet-only bank K-Bank is rapidly growing by attracting 1 million new subscribers in two months. The cumulative number of subscribers has exceeded 3 million, which is evaluated as recognition of high interest rates and non-face-to-face convenience. In particular, it is pointed out as a synergy through various partnerships such as the cryptocurrency exchange 'Upbit' along with the recent surge in the cryptocurrency market.

According to the financial sector on the 28th, K-Bank recently surpassed 3 million subscribers. Launched in April 2017, K-Bank exceeded 1 million customers in April 2019, about two years later. Then, at the beginning of last December, the number of customers exceeded 2 million. It took two years for the first 1 million, 1 year and 8 months for the second 1 million, but it took less than two months to attract the third 1 million.

Deposit and savings performance is rising as much as the cumulative number of subscribers. According to the financial sector, as of the end of January, K-Bank's deposit and loan balances recorded 4.5 trillion KRW and 3.35 trillion KRW, respectively. Compared to the end of June last year, before K-Bank resumed capital increase and loan operations, when the balances were 1.85 trillion KRW and 1.26 trillion KRW respectively, the figures have nearly tripled. During the same period, the number of customers also increased from 1.35 million to 2.47 million.

Last month's performance is particularly remarkable. At the end of December last year, K-Bank's deposit and savings balance was 3.75 trillion KRW, increasing by 750 billion KRW in January alone. Loans also increased by 360 billion KRW during this period. New customers reached 280,000. Considering that the average monthly net increase in deposits and loans from July to December last year was 316.7 billion KRW and 288.3 billion KRW respectively, and new customers were 140,000, this is more than double the growth.

This performance was influenced by interest rates higher than those of commercial banks. K-Bank's one-year fixed deposit interest rate is up to 1.3% per annum, and the one-year installment savings interest rate is up to 1.8% per annum. The 'Plus Box,' a 'parking account' (demand deposit account) where surplus funds can be stored, offers up to 0.7% per annum interest even if deposited for just one day, up to 100 million KRW. Considering that the one-year fixed deposit interest rates of other major commercial banks are generally in the mid-to-high 0% range, K-Bank guarantees up to 1 percentage point higher. The '100% Non-face-to-face Apartment Mortgage Loan (Adamdae)' product, launched in August last year, surpassed 400 billion KRW in cumulative handling amount by mid-this month, just six months after launch.

Along with this, as the cryptocurrency market has recently attracted attention, it is analyzed that the number of customers flowing in through the virtual asset exchange 'Upbit,' which has a partnership with K-Bank, has greatly increased. To open a real-name account for trading on Upbit, one must go through K-Bank, and with the Bitcoin craze in January, the number of users and deposits naturally increased. Upbit's trading volume was 151,000 in January last year but surged to 502,000 in January this year.

K-Bank has also taken an aggressive approach to its loan strategy. Starting this month, it began a linked loan service that introduces secondary financial sector loan products. Currently, five financial companies offer loan products through the linked loan service: Shinhan Savings Bank, DGB Capital, Eugene Savings Bank, JT Chin-Ae Savings Bank, and Hana Capital, with plans to expand further. Customers who receive loans from partner companies through K-Bank are exempt from early repayment fees regardless of loan period or execution amount.

Starting with the launch of the linked loan service, K-Bank plans to significantly strengthen products and services for medium- to low-credit customers this year. In the first half of this year, it will launch small overdraft accounts and Saetdol loans, and in the second half, it plans to release mid-interest rate loan products using its own credit evaluation model.

A K-Bank official said, "This service was introduced to reduce the financial exploration costs of medium-credit customers who find it difficult to use banking services and to provide more diverse options," adding, "We will gradually expand benefits for medium- to low-credit customers starting this year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.