Two lending companies owned by the family of OK Financial Group's owner have confirmed their final liquidation as of the 30th of last month. These are the lending companies owned by Choi Ho, brother of OK Financial Chairman Choi Yun. Accordingly, all lending companies related to OK Financial have closed down.
According to financial authorities on the 5th, Yellow Capital, owned by OK Holdings, has returned its lending license and finally closed down on the 30th of last month. OK Holdings acquired the assets of Yellow Capital, which was owned by Choi Ho, last November and has been carrying out the liquidation process.
Another lending company owned by Choi Ho, 'H&H Financial,' also closed on the same day. It is reported that H&H Financial sold its lending assets to a third party. OK Financial is set to conclude its withdrawal from the lending business by the end of last year as planned.
OK Financial's withdrawal from the lending business began in 2014. At that time, OK Financial was attempting to acquire Yejoo and Yenarai Savings Bank (currently OK Savings Bank), but financial authorities made it a condition for a complete exit from the lending business. As a result, OK Financial promised the financial authorities to gradually reduce its lending assets and completely withdraw from the market by 2024.
OK Financial has sequentially liquidated 'Won Caching' in 2018, 'Mizu Love' in 2019, and 'Rush & Cash' last year. However, a variable arose in 2022. The size of OK Financial's assets increased sharply, leading to its designation as a large business group by the Fair Trade Commission. Consequently, the lending companies operated by Choi Ho were grouped together as a related corporate group. Choi Ho owned H&H Financial and Yellow Capital through the 100% equity stake in the debt collection company Be Collect.
In the end, in October 2023, the financial authorities issued a 'command to meet major shareholder eligibility requirements' to OK Financial, demanding that Choi Ho's lending companies also be restructured.
With the complete liquidation of its lending business, OK Financial's acquisition of Sang Sang In Savings Bank is expected to accelerate. OK Financial recently completed due diligence on Sang Sang In Savings Bank and is reviewing the acquisition conditions. The industry estimates the selling price of Sang Sang In Savings Bank to be around 300 billion won, the level of its capital (294.5 billion won as of the end of June).