Kbank headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Kbank

Kbank is making its third attempt at an initial public offering (IPO) after a strong performance last year, the internet-only bank said Thursday.

The bank's board of directors approved a proposal, Wednesday, to revive its IPO plans, after two previous unsuccessful attempts in 2022 and 2024.

Kbank's renewed IPO push is attributed to a recent market recovery. It had withdrawn its earlier plans due to weak investor demand. Last year, it aimed for a market valuation of up to 5.3 trillion won ($3.6 billion) but put the offering on hold amid worsening investor sentiment driven by political uncertainties as a result of the martial law fiasco that began in December.

Additionally, after achieving its highest-ever earnings in 2024, the bank sees an opportunity to secure a better valuation of its corporate worth. Kbank's net profit in 2024 reached 128.1 billion won, nearly ten times its 2023 profit of 12.8 billion won. The number of its customers also grew rapidly, reaching 12.74 million by the end of the year.

Kbank is expected to accelerate its IPO process this year. It signed shareholder agreements with financial investors during a capital increase in 2021. If Kbank fails to go public by July 2026, the investors — Bain Capital, MBK Partners, MG Community Credit Cooperatives, JS Private Equity and Com2uS — may exercise tag-along rights and put options.

For the IPO, NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities and Bank of America have been appointed as underwriters. The listing process will involve submitting a preliminary review application to the Korea Exchange, followed by institutional demand forecasting, public subscription and final listing.

Market watchers are keen to see whether Kbank can achieve a 5 trillion won valuation amid a cooling IPO market.

LG CNS, which had one of the largest IPOs of the year, saw its stock drop 9.85 percent on its first trading day after going public on Feb. 5. Similarly, Seoul Guarantee Insurance, valued in the trillions of won, priced its offering at the lower end of institutional demand expectations but struggled to attract interest during the public subscription phase.

At the same time, KakaoBank, a key comparable stock for Kbank, continues to underperform. Kbank's heavy reliance on Upbit, Korea's largest virtual asset exchange, could also pose a challenge as their exclusive partnership is set to end in October. Kbank's deposits from Upbit partnership accounts exceed 7 trillion won.

"There is no confirmed listing schedule at this time," a Kbank official said. "We will ensure thorough preparation to proceed with the listing when we can achieve a fair corporate valuation."