KakaoBank to Enter Southeast Asia Within the Year... Yoon Ho-young Discusses Expansion to Two Countries (Comprehensive)

Yoon Ho-young CEO "Discussions Underway for Expansion into Two Southeast Asian Countries"
Mortgage Loan Coverage Expanded to Include Multi-family and Row Houses
Launch of 'Choe-ae Savings' Targeting Fandoms

Yoon Ho-young, CEO of Kakao Bank

KakaoBank is expanding its operations overseas, including entering Southeast Asian countries within this year. The scope of mortgage loans will also be expanded to include multi-family and row houses.

On the morning of the 18th, Yoon Ho-young, CEO of KakaoBank, stated at a press conference held at the Fairmont Ambassador Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, "We are in discussions to enter two Southeast Asian countries," adding, "We expect to see tangible results in at least one country within this year."

He continued, "We should be able to announce whether we will enter the other country by the end of the year," and said, "Direct entry is challenging due to difficulties in obtaining licenses (permits) in those countries, but we are considering that direction as well." He added, "However, we are currently pursuing indirect entry through good partners."

Starting from the 20th, KakaoBank will expand the scope of mortgage loans from apartments to include multi-family and row houses. Multi-family and row houses can also be conveniently handled 100% non-face-to-face through chatbot functions for document submission, loan screening, and execution, just like existing mortgage loans. KakaoBank assesses the market price of multi-family and row houses through an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) system. By collaborating with providers of automated real estate price valuation, it evaluates the collateral value of multi-family and row houses similarly to apartments, allowing customers to check loan limits and interest rates.

The recently revised Banking Supervision Regulations allow banks to set their own evaluation criteria for apartments with fewer than 50 households, villas, and similar properties. The average time required to check loan limits and interest rates for multi-family and row houses is 3 minutes and 29 seconds. Additionally, collateral classification is automated, so customers can find their homes by simply entering the address without distinguishing whether the collateral is an apartment or a multi-family/row house.

The loan interest rate is a mixed rate with a minimum annual rate of 3.53% (as of the 17th), and early repayment penalties are fully waived. Loan terms can be selected from a minimum of 15 years up to 45 years (for youth), with a maximum loan limit of 1 billion KRW. CEO Yoon said, "It is true that the loan market is shrinking amid rising interest rates, but KakaoBank expects to achieve a loan growth rate in the mid-teens by enhancing customer convenience and expanding coverage."

Regarding concerns about rising delinquency rates due to the expansion of mortgage loans, CEO Yoon explained, "KakaoBank's BIS (Bank for International Settlements) capital adequacy ratio is 36%, about twice as high as other banks," and added, "Also, since more than 50% of our loans are secured loans, we have a more stable loan portfolio compared to internet-only banks."

He further stated, "It is natural for delinquency rates to increase as the proportion of low- to mid-credit borrowers rises," and said, "We secured sufficient loan loss provisions at the end of last year and plan to secure additional provisions this year in response to the increase in delinquency rates." He added that the internal expectation is that the increase in the proportion of low- to mid-credit borrowers this year will be around 4%, so delinquency rates are not expected to rise significantly.

Meanwhile, on the same day, KakaoBank launched 'Choeae Jeokgeum,' a fandom-based savings service. Choeae Jeokgeum is the first service of the new deposit product, the Record Account, from KakaoBank. The term 'Choeae Jeokgeum' is already used as a proper noun among idol fans. It is a 'savings-type fan culture' where a certain amount is saved every time a favorite star performs a specific action. For example, saving 1,000 KRW when a favorite singer posts a personal photo, or 10,000 KRW when they appear on a variety show, following their own rules and recording the savings. According to KakaoBank, 400,000 people signed up within 10 days of the pre-registration period.

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