Finda is preparing to file trademarks related to an artificial intelligence (AI) savings bank that it plans to launch next year. Finda aims to complete its ongoing 100% equity acquisition of Daewon Savings Bank within the year and launch an AI savings bank service based on it.
According to the financial sector on the 27th, Finda plans to soon begin the process of registering a trademark for an AI savings bank. The AI savings bank service name has not been finalized yet, but the previously mentioned "Finda Bank" is a strong candidate.
Last month, Finda began the licensing process to acquire Daewon Savings Bank, located in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Daewon Savings Bank's asset size is in the 3 billion won range, but the acquisition price is estimated to be around 12 billion won. After the "savings bank crisis," when more than 30 savings banks were successively suspended in 2011 due to bad loans in real estate project financing (PF), new licenses have been virtually blocked, driving up the price of a savings bank license.
Finda will fully fund the acquisition on its own. As of the end of last year, Finda's cash and cash equivalents were about 10 billion won.
To change the largest shareholder, the company must undergo a review by the Financial Supervisory Service and obtain final approval from the Financial Services Commission. Authorities are comprehensively reviewing the appropriateness of funding, financial soundness, controlling shareholder creditworthiness, and any history of financial sanctions based on materials submitted by Finda.
Finda plans to complete the acquisition process this year and launch the AI savings bank service next year. It is currently working on staffing and system build-out for that purpose. It also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Upstage in June to build an AI-based operating system and began developing finance-specialized AI agents.
Through this acquisition, Finda plans to expand its business from simple loan comparison and brokerage to a digital finance platform that directly sells loan products. KakaoBank(323410), Toss Bank and other Fintech companies have established new internet banks, but this is the first time a company like Finda has acquired a savings bank outright to enter banking.