On September 13, K Bank said that it filed a securities registration statement with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for review. It plans to offer 82 million new shares, with a target price range of 9,500 won to 12,000 won (US$7.16-US$9.05) per share, and expects to raise up to 1 trillion won at a valuation of more than 5 trillion won at the upper end of the price range. In this case, the K Bank deal would not only surpass HD Hyundai Marine Solutions (3.71 trillion won), which was listed on the stock market in May, but also become the largest deal of the year.
The target price was set based on comparisons with digital banks in the U.S. and Japan, such as Japan’s SBI Sumishin Net Bank and The Bancorp Bank’s parent company in the U.S., as well as Kakao Bank, the only listed online lender in Korea.
“K bank intends to use the IPO proceeds to advance innovative and inclusive finance,” a company official told The Korea Herald, emphasizing a focus on expanding small and medium-sized enterprise loan services, enhancing tech leadership and building an innovative investment platform. “We will ensure thorough preparations to fully realize our corporate value.”
We believe K Bank is confident about its IPO prospects given its strong performance in the first half of the year. South Korea’s first online lender posted a net profit of 85.4 billion won (US$64 million) in the first half of this year, the highest since its establishment and more than thrice as much as during the same period a year ago.
Korea’s Kyobo Securities estimates that if successful, the IPO will boost K Bank's loan balance capacity by between 9.5 trillion won and 13.7 trillion won.
Additionally, the securities firm predicts that following the IPO, K Bank’s capital adequacy ratio (currently 13.9%), will improve by about 7 to 11 percentage points. This will enhance the capacity for expanding loan volume and broaden opportunities for new investments, supporting long-term growth.