KakaoBank posts record profit in 2022 on interest gains, new loan products

[Courtesy of KakaoBank]

KakaoBank Corp. posted record earnings last year, thanks to higher profits from interest following benchmark rate hikes and introduction of new products, including mortgage loans.

The internet bank announced Wednesday that net income last year reached 263.1 billion won ($209 million), a 28.9 percent increase from a year before. Its revenue jumped 50.8 percent to 1.61 trillion won and operating profit rose 37.5 percent to 353.2 billion won.

For the fourth quarter last year, the bank’s revenue grew 56.8 percent from a year earlier to 484.7 billion won. Operating profit rose 65 percent to 85.8 billion won and net income climbed 67.4 percent to 60.6 billion won.

“We are launching a range of new products in the first half this year, including fandom-targeting products to add more active users and traffic numbers to help diversify our business profitability,” the online-only bank said.

Deposits increased 3.1 trillion won to reach 33.1 trillion won in deposits at the end of last year. The bank’s loan balance rose 2 trillion won to 27.9 trillion won during the same period. The bank attributed the growth to its loan products, including loans to customers with mid- to low-credit scores, housing leasehold deposit loans and mortgage loans.

In particular, the bank’s mortgage loans exceeded 1 trillion won only 10 months after launching the product.

The balance of unsecured loans to customers with mid- to low-credit scores reached 3.2 trillion won, 25.4 percent of the bank’s total loans at the end of last year, hitting the regulatory target of 25 percent. The number of the bank customers was reached a record 20.42 million and monthly active users hit an all-time high of 16.440 million.

Net interest margin was 2.48 percent at the end of last year and its loan delinquency ratio was 0.49 percent.