KB Financial Group posted a first-half net profit of 3.88 trillion won, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier, helped by higher fee income. Net fee income surged 50.6 percent, while second-quarter net interest income fell and margins narrowed. Non-bank units accounted for 44 percent of group profit, with KB Securities contributing about 21 percent. The board approved a 700 billion won share buyback and cancellation and a quarterly cash dividend of 1,155 won per share.

South Korea\'s financial authorities have begun overhauling the private debt collection market after President Lee Jae-myung publicly criticised practices in collecting long-overdue debt. The plan would shift the business of buying and collecting non-performing loans to a licensing system, limit eligible operators to firms majority-owned by financial companies and raise minimum capital requirements. Regulators say the current market structure fuels long-term and excessive collection and is difficult to supervise effectively.