KakaoBank said it will pursue inorganic growth and is actively pushing mergers and acquisitions, prioritising payments and capital companies, as it seeks to bolster medium- to long-term growth drivers. CFO Kwon Tae-hoon said a capital firm could open new markets for an internet bank. The bank said its platform-based growth has helped stabilise deposits and non-interest income, and it aims to prepare an M&A deal within the year.

Financial companies including major banks are introducing a growing range of AI-based services, raising questions about whether consumers will see tangible benefits. Shinhan Bank launched an OpenAI GPT-based export document screening service, while KakaoBank and Toss Bank expanded AI offerings. The Export-Import Bank of Korea plans to invest 20 trillion won over five years to support domestic AI firms. Overseas, U.S. BNPL payments hit records during the year-end shopping season, Adobe Analytics data showed.