K Bank Lists on KOSPI on Third Attempt, Raising Hopes for Stronger Capital Base

[Financial News] K Bank, the country’s first internet-only bank, debuted on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) on March 5. Leveraging its KOSPI listing, K Bank plans to strengthen its capital base and focus investment on future growth.
According to the Korea Exchange on March 5, K Bank ended its first day of trading on KOSPI at 8,330 won, slightly above its offering price of 8,300 won. Based on the closing price, K Bank’s market capitalization came to 3.3794 trillion won.
Early in the session, K Bank’s share price climbed as high as 9,880 won, up about 19% from the offering price, before reversing course and falling to an intraday low of 8,120 won. It later pared losses and finished the day around the offering price.
Following its listing, K Bank aims to secure capacity for more than 10 trillion won in new lending through capital expansion, thereby accelerating its push into innovative finance. The bank also plans to secure new growth engines by entering the SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) market, strengthening its tech capabilities, expanding its platform business, and investing in new areas including digital assets.
This year, the bank will particularly step up its push into the SME market. It intends to gradually expand its portfolio, which is currently centered on household loans, into corporate lending and aims to bring the share of household loans and SME loans to a 50–50 balance by 2030.
K Bank also plans to respond aggressively in the stablecoin business. At an Initial Public Offering (IPO) press briefing last month, K Bank president Woo-Hyung Choi said, "We have taken the lead in forming partnerships and have internalized blockchain technology to a considerable degree for the stablecoin business," adding, "Once the relevant regulations are in place, we will move in earnest to verify the technology and build out the necessary infrastructure."

chord@fnnews.com Reporter Lee Hyun-jung Reporter