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KakaoBank, which has become the 'leading bank' among internet-only banks, continues to achieve remarkable results in the so-called 'loan refinancing service' market, implemented with the aim of alleviating household interest burdens.
According to the financial sector and KakaoBank on the 8th, among 53 financial companies in the 'credit loan refinancing service' sector initiated by the government in May last year, KakaoBank's market share was recorded at 14.7% based on repayment amounts as of the 12th of last month. KakaoBank stated, "The number of customers seeking KakaoBank for refinancing purposes is increasing significantly," adding, "Until last year, 50% of the mortgage loan disbursements were for refinancing purposes, but this rose sharply to 67% in January this year."
In the 'mortgage loan refinancing service' sector introduced by the government on the 9th of last month, KakaoBank recorded a market share of 24.3% (based on application amounts as of January 26). Out of the total financial sector application amount of 2.9 trillion KRW, KakaoBank's share reached 703.8 billion KRW. Considering that 32 financial companies are participating in the mortgage loan refinancing service, KakaoBank is gaining a competitive edge while expanding its loan infrastructure.
It is also expected that KakaoBank will be able to expand its market share in the 'jeonse loan refinancing service' sector, which was sequentially introduced from the 31st of last month, by leveraging its lower interest rates. According to the financial sector, the five major commercial banks?KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup?offer interest rates ranging from 3.65% to 3.90% per annum. In comparison, KakaoBank applies interest rates more than 0.5 percentage points lower. KakaoBank offers a minimum annual interest rate of 3.33%, while K Bank offers a minimum of 3.31%.
The reason behind KakaoBank's expansion of its loan infrastructure is attributed to its possession of a platform frequently used by financial consumers in their daily lives. By applying a chatbot interface that allows users to compare loan refinancing conditions at a glance on a familiar platform, KakaoBank has significantly improved accessibility and is reaping substantial benefits.
Additionally, the relatively higher loan limits compared to other internet banks such as K Bank and Toss Bank serve as another expansion momentum. KakaoBank offers various products including general products from the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, youth jeonse deposit loans, and Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI) jeonse deposit loans. Among these, KakaoBank is the only institution handling SGI jeonse deposit loans. The loan limits for jeonse deposit loans from the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) and the Korea Housing Finance Corporation (HF) are around 200 million KRW, whereas the SGI loan limit reaches up to 500 million KRW. The rental deposit limits for HUG and HF loans are up to 700 million KRW in the metropolitan area and 500 million KRW outside the metropolitan area, but SGI loans have no such restrictions. Furthermore, internet banks like KakaoBank are taking strong measures by fully exempting early repayment fees on all loan products, unlike commercial banks.
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Choi Jung-wook, a researcher at Hana Securities, explained, "KakaoBank's annual loan refinancing limit is about 900 billion KRW, but considering the purpose of interest rate competition, there is potential for an increase in the limit going forward," adding, "The refinancing of jeonse funds is expected to serve as a catalyst for the resumption of growth in jeonse and monthly rent loans, which had stagnated for over a year recently."
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