KB Financial said on Wednesday it posted 5.84 trillion won in cumulative net profit for 2025 and group ROE of 10.86 percent.

It said profits at core affiliates including banking and securities increased despite an unfavourable environment marked by greater volatility in exchange rates and interest rates. Non-interest results jumped sharply, led by capital markets-related income.

It said net fee and commission income rose 6.5 percent from a year earlier on a cumulative basis. It said this ushered in an era of 1 trillion won in average quarterly levels.

Group fourth-quarter net profit came to 721.3 billion won, down from the previous quarter due to one-off factors including the recognition of early retirement costs at affiliates and the buildup of provisions related to ELS penalty surcharges.

The group cost-to-income ratio was 39.3 percent, its lowest on record on an annual basis, as core earnings showed solid growth and group-wide efforts to improve cost efficiency continued, it said.

Among key management indicators, the group's common equity tier 1 ratio and BIS capital ratio stood at 13.79 percent and 16.16 percent, respectively, as of end-December 2025. It said they remained at the top level in the industry despite greater market volatility including a rise in the exchange rate, supported by efficient capital allocation and management of risk-weighted assets.

Group net interest margin for the fourth quarter was 1.95 percent, down 1 basis point from the previous quarter. Bank NIM was 1.75 percent, similar to the previous quarter, supported by moderate asset growth and lower funding costs.

The group's credit cost ratio for 2025 was 0.48 percent, up 5 basis points from a year earlier, as a conservative provision-building stance was maintained due to delays in the economic recovery. It said it stayed at a stable level within 50 basis points for a second consecutive year.

Cumulative group ROA and ROE for 2025 were 0.75 percent and 10.86 percent, respectively, showing continued improvement from a year earlier in profitability and capital efficiency, it said.

Among major affiliates, KB Kookmin Bank posted 3.86 trillion won in net profit for 2025, up 18.8 percent, or 610.2 billion won, from a year earlier.

It said interest income was supported by growth in average loan assets and lower funding costs. It also cited improved fees related to bancassurance, funds and trusts, and the disappearance of the impact from provisions built in the previous year for ELS contingent liabilities, as factors behind solid results.

The bank's NIM in the fourth quarter of last year was 1.75 percent, up 1 basis point from the previous quarter, supported by efforts to cut funding costs despite a decline in the yield on loan assets. Won-denominated loans stood at 377 trillion won at end-2025, up 3.8 percent from end-2024 and 0.5 percent from the previous quarter.

Household loans grew 3.7 percent from a year earlier and 0.8 percent from the previous quarter amid a constrained growth environment. Corporate loans rose 3.9 percent from end-2024 and 0.4 percent from the previous quarter as lending to sound small and medium-sized companies and large firms increased. The annual credit cost ratio was 0.19 percent, it said, showing stable risk management.

Sang-rok Na (나상록), executive vice president in charge of finance at KB Financial, said, "Despite an unfavourable environment such as greater volatility in exchange rates and interest rates, profits at core affiliates expanded and non-interest performance increased sharply, led by capital markets-related income, boosting the group's profit-generation capacity."