K-Bank Surpasses 10 Trillion Won in Deposits... Grows Fivefold in 9 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Internet-only bank K Bank has recently surpassed 10 trillion won in deposit balances. As of the end of June last year, the deposit balance was only about 1.85 trillion won, but within 9 months of resuming operations, the deposit amount increased more than fivefold.

According to the financial sector on the 7th, K Bank's deposit balance, which was 8.72 trillion won at the end of last month, recently exceeded 10 trillion won. This is double the total deposits of Jeju Bank (about 5.4 trillion won) as of the end of last year, and is below the total deposits of Jeonbuk Bank (about 15.6 trillion won). It has been 4 years since K Bank, established in April 2017, has come to stand shoulder to shoulder with regional banks.

K Bank's rapid deposit growth rate is also noteworthy. Comparing the deposit growth rate from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020 among 12 banks including the four major commercial banks, six regional banks (Gyeongnam, Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, Jeonbuk, Jeju Banks), and two internet-only banks, only four banks?Shinhan Bank, Gwangju Bank, Kakao Bank, and K Bank?recorded double-digit growth.

As of the end of last year, K Bank recorded an outstanding annual deposit growth rate of 63.9% (total deposits of 2.2845 trillion won at the end of 2019, 3.7453 trillion won at the end of 2020). The other three banks showed growth rates in the 10% range.

This rapid increase in deposits is interpreted as being greatly influenced by competitive interest rates comparable to those of commercial banks and the effect of partnerships such as the cryptocurrency exchange 'Upbit.' Additionally, new products such as the parking account 'Plus Box,' which offers interest even for a single day deposit, and 100% non-face-to-face apartment mortgage loans are also gaining popularity.

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