No. 1 Internet bank of Korea has reached its first anniversary. However, it is pointed out that an ankle is caught by the restriction on the separation of bank and industry. K-bank has a total transaction value of more than 2 trillion won over a year and presents seamless bank for 24 hours. It acts as a catfish in the existing banking market. However, it is blocked by the barrier of segregation of silver that obstructs the expansion of capital, It is a difficult situation.

K-bank announced that it had a total of 710,000 customers as of the end of March, receivables of KRW 1.29 trillion and loan amount of KRW 1.30 trillion at the K-bank Gwanghwamun building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on April 3.

K-bank, which was launched as Korea`s first Internet bank, issued a catch phrase "24-hour non-sleeping bank, Existing commercial banks have lowered foreign remittance fees to check for Internet professional banks, and have increased the interest rate on high - interest loans, and have acted in the financial market.

However, K-bank, which celebrates its first anniversary, has stopped innovation growth because it is stalled by the strict separation of industrial capital and bank capital.

Shim Sung-hoon, chairman of K-bank, said, "The biggest reason for not delivering new products in a timely manner is due to the increase in capital." In the near future, we plan to issue mortgage loans, but mortgage lending will affect the BIS ratio, "We cannot but place emphasis on capital increase." He added, "We have already completed the development of apartment mortgage loans to be launched in the first half of the year, but we have a long test period due to capital problems."

K-Bank has raised its capital stock to KRW 350 billion after issuing a capital increase of 100 billion won in September last year, and plans to increase it to more than KRW 500 billion by adding more than KRW 150 billion next month. However, due to the difficulty of expanding new capital, K-bank is having difficulty in diversifying business as well as launching new loan products. In fact, last year, as the rights offering was delayed, the company stopped selling its core loan product, "Workers` Credit Loans."

Financial experts point out that it is imperative to relax regulations on segregation of segments in order for Internet-based banks such as K-bank and Cacao Bank to enter the existing system market steadily.

However, there are three proposals for Internet banking in 2016 that will ease restrictions on the ban on segregation.

Recently, there has been a pessimistic view that deregulation will take place as Kim Ki-sik, the newly appointed chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, who opposes the deregulation of the regulations on the separation of silver, will take over.

In response, Shim stated, "Unlike Kim Jang-soo, who is a member of the opposition party, he is expecting as much as he has emphasized harmony and balance and a new perspective." He said, "I do not mean to violate the principle of segregation, It means to open with it.”

A senior expert of the banking industry also said, "The size should be increased and the capital should be expanded smoothly in order for the Internet bank to grow continuously."

Meanwhile, K-bank plans to carry out various financial businesses in the future. The bank plans to release overseas remittance services, which are less expensive than commercial banks and can prevent mistransfers in advance, and offer 100% non-face-to-face apartment mortgage loans in the first half of this month. The company also plans to launch a simple application-based payment service in the third quarter and provide a 0% commission to small-scale merchants.

However, credit card business is delayed. As the profitability of card companies deteriorated due to the recent cuts in commission fees, credit card companies are looking for profitability.

By Cho Eun Guk ceg4204@


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