SEOUL– South Korean online lender K-Bank said Monday its earnings shot up in the first quarter of the year on the back of a jump in interest income.
Net profit stood at 24.5 billion won (US$19.1 million) in the January-March period, higher than its net income of 22.5 billion won for all of 2021, K-Bank said.
K-Bank said its first-quarter performance was bolstered by higher interest income stemming from a continued rise in the number of customers and the amount of loans and deposits.
The online lender said its interest income reached an all-time high of 82.4 billion won in the three-month period.
The number of its customers amounted to 7.5 million as of the end of March, up from 7.17 million three months earlier.
Customer deposits climbed by 220 billion won to 11.54 trillion won over the cited period, with outstanding loans gaining by 720 billion won to 7.81 trillion won.
K-Bank, South Korea’s first internet-only bank that started operation in 2017, is controlled by a consortium of telecom giant KT Corp., Woori Bank and 19 other firms.
Source: Yonhap News Agency