KB Financial Group said on the 5th that it posted a record net profit of 5.843 trillion won last year. The figure rose 15.1% from a year earlier.
According to KB Financial Group, net profit in the fourth quarter last year came to 721.3 billion won, up 5.4% from a year earlier. Due to one-off factors such as recognizing expense for voluntary retirement at affiliates and setting aside a provision related to a penalty surcharge for equity-linked securities (ELS), it fell 57.2% from the previous quarter.
The group's return on equity (ROE) was 10.86%, improving by 1.1 percentage points (p) from a year earlier. Net interest income last year was 13.0731 trillion won, up 1.9% on-year. The group's net interest margin (NIM) in the fourth quarter was 1.95%, down 1 basis point (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point) from the previous quarter. The bank NIM rose 1 bp to 1.75%.
Net fee and commission income was 4.0983 trillion won, up 6.5% from a year earlier. As stock market transaction value expanded, fee income from the securities business increased sharply. Other operating gains and losses were 773.8 billion won, up 119.9% from a year earlier. It improved significantly thanks to efficient management of the marketable securities portfolio, including expanded performance in equity securities management driven by a buoyant capital market.
General and administrative expenses were 7.051 trillion won, up 1.6% year-over-year. The company said long-running voluntary retirement has cumulatively reduced labor costs, allowing stable cost control. The cost-to-income ratio (CIR) hit a record low of 39.3%.
Cumulative credit loss provision expenses totaled 2.363 trillion won. With delays in interest rate cuts and other potential volatility ahead, the group maintained a conservative stance on provisions across all affiliates and set aside provisions conservatively from the start of the year, resulting in a 15.6% increase from a year earlier.
The credit cost ratio (CCR) was 0.48%, up 5 bp from a year earlier. The prolonged downturn due to continued macro uncertainty, including U.S.-driven tariff moves and delays in interest rate cuts, led all affiliates to maintain a conservative stance on provisions.
As of the end of last year, total assets stood at 797.9 trillion won, and group total assets including assets under management (AUM) came to 1,417.4 trillion won. Group total assets increased by 15.2 trillion won from the end of September, led by the bank and securities. AUM rose 13.4 trillion won from the end of September to 619.5 trillion won, driven by an increase in WM assets at the securities arm and retirement pensions at the bank.
The common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) total capital ratio were 13.79% and 16.16%, respectively. The company said it has maintained capital adequacy at the industry's top level through stable profit growth, efficient capital allocation, and risk-weighted asset management.
KB Kookmin Bank's net profit last year came to 3.862 trillion won. It was a record high, up 18.8% (610.2 billion won) from a year earlier. It reclaimed the "leading bank" title, beating Shinhan Bank (3.7748 trillion won) and Hana Bank (3.7475 trillion won), which released their results earlier.
This was due to defending interest income through higher average loan assets and lower funding costs, improved fees, and the disappearance of the impact from provisioning for ELS in the previous year.
In the fourth quarter, despite lower yields on loan assets, the bank NIM rose 1 bp from the previous quarter to 1.75% thanks to efforts to reduce funding costs. As of the end of last year, won-denominated loans were 377 trillion won, up 3.8% from the end of the previous year and 0.5% from the previous quarter.
Household loans expanded 3.7% year-over-year and 0.8% quarter-over-quarter amid a constrained growth environment. Corporate loans rose 3.9% from the end of the previous year and 0.4% from the previous quarter as lending to quality small and midsize enterprises and large corporations increased. The annual credit cost ratio (CCR) was 0.19%.
On the day, the KB Financial Group board resolved to set the fourth-quarter dividend per share at 1,605 won, about double the 804 won a year earlier. Including the cash dividends already paid on a quarterly basis last year, total cash dividends came to 1.58 trillion won, up 32% from a year earlier.
The annual payout ratio was 27%, exceeding the 25% threshold for high-dividend companies and meeting the requirements to qualify for separate taxation of dividend income. The first shareholder return pool for 2026, calculated in line with the CET1 ratio at the end of the previous year, totals 2.82 trillion won. KB Financial Group plans to use 1.62 trillion won for cash dividends and 1.2 trillion won for share repurchases.
Na Sang-rok, executive vice president and chief financial officer at KB Financial Group, said of the results, "Even in an unfavorable environment with greater volatility in exchange rates and interest rates, profits at key affiliates expanded, and the non-interest segment saw a sharp increase centered on capital market-related revenue, enhancing the group's earnings power."