KakaoBank Posts Record First Half Net Profit... Considering Entry into Credit Card Business (Comprehensive)

Yoon Ho-young, CEO of Kakao Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] KakaoBank recorded its highest-ever operating profit and net income for the first half of the year. However, operating profit and net income for the second quarter decreased compared to the same period last year. KakaoBank also plans to enter the credit card market in the future.

Highest Ever Net Income for the First Half

On the 3rd, KakaoBank announced that it recorded sales of 709.2 billion KRW and operating profit of 162.8 billion KRW for the first half of the year. Sales increased by 48.2%, and operating profit rose by 21.7% compared to the previous year. Net income was recorded at 123.8 billion KRW, up 6.8%.

Second-quarter sales grew 46.2% year-on-year to 370.8 billion KRW, but operating profit was 74.4 billion KRW and net income was 57.0 billion KRW, down 6.8% and 17.7% respectively from the same period last year. KakaoBank explained, "The decrease in operating profit was due to an additional provision of 12.6 billion KRW reflecting future economic outlook."

The net interest margin (NIM) for the second quarter was 2.29%. The delinquency rate was 0.33%, but excluding the temporary impact caused by delayed subrogation payments on jeonse and monthly rent loans, it was 0.28%.

Deposit balances increased by 3.1547 trillion KRW from the end of last year to 33.1808 trillion KRW. Low-cost deposits steadily expanded, accounting for 59.8% of the total.

Loan balances rose by 954.9 billion KRW from 25.8614 trillion KRW at the end of last year to 26.8163 trillion KRW. Growth was driven by loans to low- and middle-credit borrowers and jeonse deposits and mortgage loans.

The balance of unsecured loans to low- and middle-credit borrowers reached 2.9582 trillion KRW, an increase of 493.9 billion KRW from the end of last year. The proportion of low- and middle-credit loans also rose 5 percentage points from 17% at the end of last year to 22.2%.

Nearly 20 Million Customers... Continued Platform Growth

As of the end of the second quarter, KakaoBank had 19.17 million customers, an increase of 1.18 million from 17.99 million at the end of last year. The cumulative number of subscribers to the youth-targeted financial service "mini" was 1.39 million.

KakaoBank's mobile application (app) monthly active users (MAU) also reached a record high of 15.42 million, maintaining its position as the number one banking app (based on Nielsen Media digital data).

The number of securities accounts opened through KakaoBank's stock account opening service surpassed 6 million cumulatively.

Launching Loans for Individual Business Owners in the Second Half... Also Entering Credit Card Market

A KakaoBank official stated, "In the second half, we plan to launch mortgage loan maturity extension products and expand the target regions and collateral types to accelerate loan growth."

KakaoBank plans to launch financial products for individual business owners in the fourth quarter and will also begin full-scale preparations for entering the global market.

The linked loan handling performance, currently in partnership with 19 financial companies, achieved a cumulative 5.1 trillion KRW, growing 23% compared to the end of last year.

Performance in issuing affiliated credit cards grew 28%, increasing the cumulative total to 470,000 cards. KakaoBank is also considering entering the credit card market. Yoon Ho-young, CEO of KakaoBank, said, "We will expand the credit card business to all card companies to strengthen universality," adding, "We are also positively reviewing obtaining a license."

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