(image: K-Bank)
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — K-Bank, South Korea’s first Internet-only bank, said Wednesday it has raised its deposit rate, in an apparent bid to fend off its competitor, Kakao Bank.
K-Bank increased the rate it offers on a 1-year time deposit by 10 bps to 2.1 percent, compared with 2 percent offered by Kakao Bank.
The rate hike came as Kakao Bank has far outpaced the growth of K-Bank in terms of customer base and loans.
K-Bank, which began formal operations April 3, has attracted about 440,000 customers and made loans worth 630 billion won (US$558 million).
In comparison, Kakao Bank’s number of accounts exceeded 2 million, and it has made loans worth 770 billion won in just 13 days since launching operations.
K-Bank is led by KT Corp., the nation’s biggest fixed-line Internet operator, while Kakao Bank is led by Kakao Corp., operator of the nation’s dominant messaging app KakaoTalk.
(Yonhap)
