KakaoBank Corp. (stylized as Kakaobank; ) is a
South Korean financial institution specializing in
mobile banking services and
financial technology
Financial technology (abbreviated as fintech) refers to the application of innovative technologies to products and services in the financial industry. This broad term encompasses a wide array of technological advancements in financial services, ...
. It was founded in 2016 through a collaboration between Korea Investment Holdings and
Kakao Corp.
History
The banking service initiated its public offering in July 2017, garnering considerable attention by acquiring over 240,000 customers within its inaugural 24-hour period. As of July 10, the bank reported
deposits
A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below.
...
totaling 17.6 trillion won ($14.5 billion) and
loans
In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the debt ( ...
amounting to 11.3 trillion won ($9.3 billion).
As of July 11, 2019, Kakaobank boasted a customer base exceeding 10 million individuals. As of March 31, 2021, Kakaobank reported a customer count surpassing 14.2 million. In 2021, KakaoBank exclusively signed a contract with HSBC to further expand into Europe. As of 2021, KakaoBank now controls HSBC's online banking.
Valuation
In October 2020, Kakaobank achieved a corporate valuation of approximately KRW 8.6 trillion, following a capital infusion of KRW 750 billion from U.S.-based private equity firm
TPG Capital
TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm in ...
and existing shareholders.
IPO
On September 25, 2020, Kakaobank publicly disclosed its intention to initiate an Initial Public Offering (
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
). The bank selected KB Security and
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...
to serve as lead managers for its IPO, with
Citi
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, the bank holding company for Citibank, and ...
appointed as a co-manager. According to a report from local media, Kakaobank was scheduled to submit its IPO application to a Korean exchange on April 15, 2021.
App
Kakaobank offers its products through mobile applications that utilize straightforward Know Your Customer (KYC) methods. In July 2019, Kakaobank's
Android app earned recognition as the leading banking application in terms of
Monthly Active Users
Active users is a software performance metric that is commonly used to measure the level of engagement for a particular software product or object, by quantifying the number of active interactions from users or visitors within a relevant range ...
(MAU) and as the most downloaded banking app in the country, according to data from igaoworks.
A significant shareholder,
Kakao Corp, operates the messaging application
KakaoTalk
KakaoTalk (), commonly referred to as KaTalk () in South Korea, is an instant messenger and online services platform operated by Kakao Corporation. It was launched in 2010 and the app is available on mobile and desktop platforms.
KakaoTalk is ...
, which enjoyed widespread usage by 88% of South Koreans at the bank's inception.
List of past bank presidents
* Yun Ho-yeong (2016–present)
* Lee Young-u (2016–2020)
See also
*
List of banks in South Korea
This is a list of South Korean banks and the parenthesized number is the bank number.
Central bank
*Bank of Korea (001)
Specialized banks
Specialized banks are financial institutions established under a special act, not the Korean Banking Act. T ...
References
External links
*
*
How to Start a Bank: Kakao Bank's Case study (World's fastest growing digital bank in Korea)
{{KOSPI 200
Kakao
Online banks
South Korean companies established in 2016
Banks established in 2016
Banks of South Korea
Companies in the KOSPI 200