K bank resumes IPO process, eyes 2024 listing

The internet-only K bank said Friday that it is pushing for an initial public offering this year following a failed attempt last year.

“The IPO will be an opportunity for K bank to take another big leap,” said CEO Choi Woo-hyung, who took the post on Jan. 1. “K bank will grow with all its members through thorough preparations.”

K bank was launched in April 2017, becoming the nation’s first internet-only bank. As of 2023, it boasted 9.53 million users.

After years of operating losses, the lender posted net profits in 2021 for the first time. It continued to log extended gains. It posted 83.6 billion won ($62.5 million) in operating profits in 2022 and 38.2 billion won in the January-September period in 2023.

Last year, the bank had sought to make its market debut on the nation’s main bourse the Kospi after getting preliminary approval from the Korea Exchange. But it scrapped those plans, citing a fall in corporate value amid the sluggish stock market.

At the time, the firm had planned for 7 trillion won in valuation but the market consensus remained at some 4 trillion won.

The bank has been under greater pressure from investors to resume the delayed IPO process. In 2021, the bank attracted 725 billion won from investors in a paid-in capital increase under a commitment to pay back the investment fund through an IPO in the next five years.

If the lender fails to make a market debut in the given timeline, the investors, including private equity firm MBK Partners and global investment firm Bain Capital, can exercise their drag-along rights as granted by BC Card, the largest shareholder of the lender with a 69.54 percent stake.