K Bank Surpasses 8 Million Customers... Continued Increase in Deposits and Loans in Q3

Short-term High-Interest Deposit Sales

Loan Interest Rate Reduction, Launch of New Loan Products

Increase in Deposit and Loan Balances Despite Loan Market Stagnation Due to Interest Rate Hikes

[Asia Economy Reporter Sim Nayoung] K-Bank announced on the 4th that its number of customers surpassed 8 million, reaching 8.01 million by the end of September.

Launched in April 2017, K-Bank surpassed 1 million customers in April 2019, 3 million in February 2021, and 5 million in May of the same year. The milestone of 8 million customers was achieved nine months after reaching 7 million customers in December 2021.

Growth in scale led to an increase in customers. K-Bank's deposit balance, which was 12.18 trillion KRW at the end of Q2 this year, rose to 13.49 trillion KRW by the end of Q3, and the loan balance increased from 8.73 trillion KRW to 9.78 trillion KRW during the same period. Both loans and deposits increased by more than 1 trillion KRW in Q3 alone, showing the fastest growth pace this year.

In particular, K-Bank succeeded in loan growth in Q3 despite the overall decline in household loans due to interest rate hikes, thanks to its competitive interest rates and new products.

According to the Korea Federation of Banks, K-Bank offered the lowest interest rates among internet banks across all credit rating tiers for unsecured loans in July, expanding loans with competitive rates during this period. Starting in Q3, K-Bank launched ‘Customized Unsecured Loans,’ allowing customers to easily select the loan product best suited to their situation, thereby enhancing customer convenience.

Seo Hoseong, CEO of K Bank

For secured loans, K-Bank lowered interest rates a total of four times for jeonse loans and three times for apartment mortgage loans in Q3, leading efforts to reduce housing cost burdens.

The loan product lineup was also expanded. Following the launch of the guaranteed loan product ‘K-Bank Boss Loan’ for self-employed individuals in May, K-Bank introduced the unsecured loan product ‘Individual Business Owner Unsecured Loan’ in September, completing its personal business loan portfolio. K-Bank plans to soon launch apartment mortgage loans (purchase funds), building a loan portfolio covering unsecured, secured, and self-employed loans.

On the deposit side, K-Bank responded to the rapidly rising interest rate market with short-term products. In Q3, K-Bank raised the interest rate of the parking account ‘Plus Box,’ which pays interest even if deposited for just one day, to an industry-high annual rate of 2.3%. Plus Box applies a single interest rate up to the industry’s highest limit of 300 million KRW. Additionally, special promotions such as the ‘Code K Time Deposit 100 Days’ (launched July 8) offering 3% annual interest for 100 days, and the ‘New Year Preparation Deposit’ (launched September 21) offering 3.1% annual interest, gained popularity.

Partnership services were also expanded. During Q3, customers could open Samsung Securities stock accounts and subscribe to DB Insurance’s overseas travel insurance through K-Bank, and the ‘K-Bank Samsung iD Card,’ a credit card optimized for the MZ generation, was newly launched.

K-Bank supplied 1.049 trillion KRW in mid- to low-credit loans in the first half of this year alone, exceeding last year’s annual supply amount of 751 billion KRW. During the same period, it also waived a total of 5.356 billion KRW in customer interest, the highest amount among banks.

Seo Hoseong, CEO of K-Bank, said, “Achieving 8 million customers is the result of efforts to realize the founding purpose of internet banks: inclusion and innovative finance.” He added, “We will continue growth in Q4 through strengthening product competitiveness, launching new products, expanding partnerships, and enhancing app convenience.”

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