KakaoBank CEO Yoon Ho-young announces the internet-only bank's value-up program during the 2024 analyst conference at the firm's office in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of KakaoBank

KakaoBank will transform into a comprehensive financial platform with assets totaling 100 trillion won ($72 billion) within the next three years, driven by sustained growth and expanded innovation, CEO Yoon Ho-young said on Tuesday.

The announcement was made during the 2024 analyst conference at the firm's office in Seoul, where Yoon unveiled the internet-only bank's value-up program for mid- to long-term growth.

He outlined the business goals, aiming for both quantitative and qualitative growth by 2027. These goals include reaching 30 million customers, achieving 100 trillion won in assets and driving an average annual growth of 20 percent in fee and platform revenue.

In addition, the bank announced a balanced shareholder return policy to convert its robust growth into shareholder value.

"Building on our overwhelming traffic and engagement, KakaoBank plans to optimize its revenue models, including net interest margin and platform services, while expanding its core competencies into global markets as well as investment and mergers and acquisitions sectors," Yoon said.

"We are committed to establishing a shareholder return policy that actively shares the fruits of growth with its shareholders, thereby enhancing capital efficiency."

He added, "Leveraging our artificial intelligence transformation capabilities, we will pursue an AI-first strategy focused on innovating customer experience, strengthening financial stability and optimizing operations."

KakaoBank's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Yonhap

The country's largest internet-only bank said its growth-oriented value-up strategy will be implemented with two core pillars: sustainable growth and innovative expansion.

As of this year, the bank has 9.06 million active users, representing 30 percent of the country's economically active population. Active users are defined as customers who use the bank as their salary account or exhibit high app engagement.

Moving forward, KakaoBank aims to continue expanding its customer base and growing its deposit portfolio.

First, the firm plans to launch dedicated services catering to diverse customer groups, from infants to middle-aged and older adults, to increase penetration across all age demographics. The bank is also preparing services for foreign customers, including dedicated deposit accounts for foreigners residing in Korea and exclusive services for short-term visitors.

The bank also aims to strengthen its integration with KakaoTalk accounts, further broadening its customer base. The strong synergy with the country's largest messenger app is expected to enable the bank to leverage its vast user base while enhancing the messenger's financial-related services.

With this expanded customer base, the bank aims to secure 30 million customers by 2027, including increasing the number of active users to 13 million.

In addition to growing its customer base, the company will pursue innovation and financial growth through investments, M&As and the expansion of its presence in global markets.

Through portfolio diversification and a multifaceted revenue model, the bank plans to increase the share of noninterest income — from fees, platforms, investment financial assets and other sources — to over 40 percent of total operating income by 2030, excluding loan interest income.

The bank is also advancing its AI-first strategy, planning to simplify services such as transfers and account inquiries, introducing personalized recommendation services to enhance customer experiences and improving security for fraud detection and authentication processes.

To achieve this, it will allocate over 10 percent of its workforce to AI specialists, solidifying its AI transformation capabilities.

As for an active shareholder return policy, the firm announced plans to increase its shareholder return rate from the current 20 percent to up to 50 percent if the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, capital adequacy ratio exceeds the average of major commercial banks in the previous year over the next three years.

Additionally, the bank intends to expand inclusive finance by continuing its growth trajectory, reducing financial burdens for small business owners and increasing the supply of loans to mid- to low-credit customers.