KakaoBank posted net profit of 328 billion won in the first half of this year, up 24.4% from a year earlier. While expanding its lending centered on loans to sole proprietors, the bank diversified its non-interest business to earn 589.5 billion won in related revenue.
KakaoBank said on the 5th that its first-half net profit rose 24.4% from the same period last year to 328 billion won, a record high on a first-half basis. Second-quarter net profit was 140.8 billion won, up 11.5% year-on-year.
Loans to sole proprietors led the growth in lending. Total outstanding loans stood at 48.217 trillion won at the end of the first half, up 518 billion won from the previous quarter. While household loans grew only 234 billion won, loans to sole proprietors increased 284 billion won to a balance of 3.687 trillion won. Although their share of total lending remains small, their growth was steep.
KakaoBank plans to focus on expanding loans to sole proprietors in the second half as well. In the fourth quarter, it will launch a refinancing service for real estate-backed loans to sole proprietors. Next year, it plans to expand its corporate lending into small and medium-sized enterprises, starting with joint lending with Busan Bank.
The non-interest business also contributed to the improved performance. First-half operating revenue was 1.6483 trillion won, up 5.5% year-on-year. Non-interest income was 589.5 billion won, accounting for 36% of total operating revenue. Fee and platform revenue rose 10.5% from the same period last year to 169.6 billion won.
In particular, the volume of loans executed through the loan comparison service in the second quarter was 1.56 trillion won, up 12% year-on-year. The fund sales balance expanded to 1.8 trillion won. Over the same period, debit card payments reached 6.3 trillion won, a record high on a quarterly basis.
Asset quality also remained stable. The delinquency rate at the end of the first half was 0.51%, down 0.01 percentage point from a year earlier.
KakaoBank plans to further strengthen its platform competitiveness in the second half. "We plan to launch an auto finance comparison service, a new debit card and a service linked to KakaoPay Securities," a KakaoBank official said. "We will also accelerate the expansion of our non-banking lending through the acquisition of Mastern Capital."
