K-Bank Reports Record High Q1 Net Profit of 50.7 Billion Won

Q1 Net Profit at 5 Times Last Year
Growth in Deposits and Loans, Increase in Interest Income
Increase in Secured Loans through Debt Refinancing
10.33 Million Customers... 800,000 New Inflows

Choi Woo-hyung, CEO of K Bank

K Bank announced on the 13th that it recorded its highest-ever performance in the first quarter of this year.

K Bank's net profit for the first quarter reached 50.7 billion KRW, marking the highest quarterly figure. Compared to the same period last year (10.4 billion KRW), this represents an increase of 40.3 billion KRW (approximately 388%). K Bank stated that balanced growth in both loans and deposits was the driving force behind this record quarterly performance.

According to K Bank, the loan balance at the end of the first quarter was 14.76 trillion KRW, a 6.6% increase compared to the previous quarter. A detailed look shows that apartment mortgage loan balances increased by 1 trillion KRW, and jeonse (key money deposit) loan balances rose by 300 billion KRW. Notably, 67% of all new apartment mortgage loans were refinancing loans. K Bank's mortgage loan ratio was about 45% as of the first quarter, up 5 percentage points from the end of last year. Loans to individual businesses also surpassed a balance of 1 trillion KRW.

K Bank's interest income in the first quarter was 135.7 billion KRW, up 31.9% year-on-year. Non-interest income was 15.7 billion KRW, doubling from 8.1 billion KRW the previous year. The increase in non-interest income was driven by nearly a threefold rise in securities account openings compared to the same period last year and expanded operational income.

Deposit balances reached 23.97 trillion KRW, a 25.7% increase from the previous quarter. The growth in deposits was supported by strengthened interest rate competitiveness and product benefits. The lifestyle savings account launched by K Bank last year exceeded 1 million accounts as of January, and the parking account "Plus Box" increased its limit from 300 million KRW to 1 billion KRW, attracting surplus funds. Special promotions such as a 10% annual interest savings product and a 5% annual interest deposit product during the first quarter also contributed to the growth in deposit balances.

At the end of the first quarter, K Bank had 10.33 million customers, an increase of 800,000 from the end of last year. This was the largest single-quarter influx of new customers since the second quarter of 2021.

The provision for loan losses in the first quarter was 48.4 billion KRW, down 19.7% compared to 60.2 billion KRW in the same period last year. The cost-to-income ratio (CIR) for the first quarter was 29%, a decrease of 1.88 percentage points from the previous quarter. K Bank's net interest margin (NIM) for the first quarter was 2.40%, up 0.05 percentage points from 2.35% in the previous quarter.

K Bank's delinquency rate improved slightly. As of the first quarter, the delinquency rate was 0.95%, down 0.01 percentage points from 0.96% in the previous quarter. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) total capital ratio stood at 13.61%.

K Bank also continued its win-win finance initiatives. The average proportion of medium- and low-credit loans in the first quarter was 33.2%, up 4.1 percentage points from 29.1% at the end of last year. This year, K Bank plans to focus on innovative finance and win-win finance under goals such as "K Bank in Daily Life," "Innovative Investment Hub K Bank," and "Tech Leading Bank K Bank."

Choi Woo-hyung, CEO of K Bank, said, "Recognition from customers for various benefits and interest rate competitiveness led to the record quarterly performance. This year, we will further expand our customer base through differentiated product services in daily life and investment areas, and do our best to practice win-win finance, including medium- and low-credit loans."

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