Kakao Bank eyes W100tr in assets, 50% shareholder returns

South Korean online lender Kakao Bank has committed to enhancing its corporate value and increasing shareholder returns as it strives to become a leading, comprehensive financial platform within the next three years.

In a meeting with analysts on Tuesday, CEO Yun Ho-young presented a detailed three-year plan centered on two main goals: "sustainable growth" and "innovative expansion."

The plan sets ambitious targets, including 30 million customers, 100 trillion won ($71.6 billion) in assets under management, and an annual 20 percent growth in interest and platform revenue. Currently, Kakao Bank serves approximately 25 million customers and manages assets worth 62 trillion won.

The company aims for an average annual revenue growth rate of 20 percent through 2030 by improving capital efficiency and profitability, with a target return on equity of 15 percent. As of the third quarter, Kakao Bank's ROE stood at 7.55 percent.

To achieve these goals, the company will focus on expanding its customer base across all age ranges, while introducing new deposit services and platform-based businesses. It is also preparing to launch services tailored to foreign nationals, including deposit accounts for foreign residents and specialized offerings for short-term visitors to Korea.

Kakao Bank also plans to drive innovation and financial growth through investments, mergers and acquisitions, and a stronger presence in global markets. In the international sector, the company is looking to expand into new business areas, including multi-finance and solution-based banking-as-a-service ventures.

By diversifying its revenue streams, Kakao Bank aims to increase non-interest income to 40 percent of total operating profits by 2030.

The company added it will also implement an "AI First" strategy to enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities, including dedicating more than 10 percent of its workforce to AI-related roles.

The plan also includes boosting shareholder returns tied to improved financial stability. If the Bank for International Settlements' capital adequacy ratio exceeds the average of major local commercial banks over the next three years, the firm will aim to raise the current shareholder return rate of 20 percent to 50 percent.

"Leveraging strong user traffic and engagement, we plan to optimize our profit model, including net interest margin and platform revenue while strengthening our competitive edge in global business, investment and M&A," CEO Yun said. "We will also improve our capital efficiency by implementing a shareholder return policy that proactively shares the benefits of growth with our investors."

Kakao Bank earlier reported a third-quarter net profit of 124.2 billion won, marking a 30 percent increase from a year ago and the highest third-quarter figure since its inception in 2017. The cumulative net profit for the January-September period also reached a record 355.6 billion won, up 27.3 percent on-year.

With an expanded customer base, which grew by 2.15 million this year, the company highlighted a surge in user engagement. Monthly active users hit a record 18.74 million, while weekly active users reached 13.52 million.