An older customer waits for his turn as other clients in his age group consult banking staff at KB Kookmin Bank's retail branch in Yeouido, Seoul, in this photo taken in March 2023. Korea Times file

Financial companies are intensifying their efforts to attract older adult clients amid a shrinking population, as they typically have accumulated more wealth than younger demographics and possess greater spending power.

According to the Seoul Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, individuals aged 60 and older accounted for 46 percent of the country's personal net assets in 2021.

Such net assets include property, which constitutes 70 percent of the wealth owned by Korean households.

According to a separate finding from Statistics Korea, the net assets of households headed by individuals aged 65 or older averaged 455.4 million won ($327,800) in 2023, marking a 0.4 percent increase from the previous year.

The year-on-year increase contrasts with a 4.5 percent year-on-year decline for all age groups.

Another finding by the statistics agency showed a widening wealth gap between those aged 65 or older and those in their 30s. The gap widened from 95.69 million won in 2020 to 182.4 million won in 2023.

"Data evidently suggest a need to woo older adult customers in an aging society," a public relations official at a commercial bank said.

The official pointed out that people aged 65 and older accounted for 18.4 percent of the country's entire population in 2023 and the proportion is expected to rise to 20 percent by 2025.

Under these circumstances, KB Kookmin Bank, the flagship affiliate of KB Financial Group, operates the KB Golden Life Center to provide consulting services on wealth management for retirees.

It also runs KB Golden Life X, a mobile platform aimed at wealth management as well as health care and other customized services for middle-aged and elderly individuals.

Also under KB Financial Group, KB Kookmin Card launched a new credit card that provides caretaker services to cardholders when they undergo medical treatments.

The card requires an annual membership fee of 1 million won, but "has seen considerable demand from older customers," according to the company.

Shinhan Bank operates after-retirement service centers in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province and Seoul's Nowon District.

It plans to open three additional centers, in Seoul's Gangnam District, Suwon in Gyeonggi Province and the southeastern port city of Ulsan, in the third quarter of this year.

Woori Bank runs two retail branch offices in two Seoul areas — Seongbuk District and Yeongdeungpo District — exclusively for elderly clients.