Best bank: KakaoBank
In 2023, Korean banks faced a perfect storm, grappling with regulatory pressure to lower interest margins while facing intense profitability hurdles. In addition, the country’s largest banks found themselves embroiled in a scandal around the mis-selling of equity-linked securities that had resulted in substantial losses for consumers.
AfE 2024
Against this difficult backdrop, KakaoBank, the country’s preeminent digital bank, wins the award for Korea’s best bank. KakaoBank has deftly charted an alternative course, aligning itself with the regulator’s objectives.
By focusing on mortgage refinancing and extending lower interest rates, KakaoBank has attracted customers from rival banks and its total loan portfolio grew by an impressive 39%, last year while its customer base expanded by 2.4 million.
Even in the face of contracting net interest margins, KakaoBank’s annual interest income grew by an astonishing 58.3% year on year to W2.04