KakaoBank will put its mid-to-long-term growth roadmap into full operation, anchored by record results, with plans including global expansion, new businesses and stronger product competitiveness.

KakaoBank said on Tuesday it posted net profit of 187.3 billion won in the first quarter, its best quarterly result. It also unveiled an expansion strategy based on the performance. On a conference call, the company gave detailed responses on growth plans across products, lending, new businesses and global operations.

In its deposit business, it plans to broaden its customer base further through new products and upgraded services. It will launch a foreign currency account in the first half and roll out services for foreigners in the second half, along with a debit card available from age 7 linked to the "Our Child Account".

It will also continue expanding AI-based features for its popular group savings account product to strengthen competitiveness. It plans to add new offerings such as a tentative "stealth account" that automatically manages customers' spare cash.

In lending, it will pursue growth and soundness management at the same time, focusing on loans to sole proprietors. As the share of real estate-backed loans increases, it plans to manage delinquency rates steadily and refine industry-specific credit scoring models to improve the precision of risk management.

In new businesses, stablecoins and expansion into non-bank finance were presented as key pillars. KakaoBank is working with Kakao and Kakao Pay to build a won-based stablecoin ecosystem. It said it is considering distribution and use by linking with the group's banking, payments, securities and insurance infrastructure.

To expand in non-bank areas, it is also continuing to actively review the acquisition of a capital company. It expects that entering new lending markets such as leasing and instalment financing would help cut funding costs by improving credit ratings after an acquisition and secure synergies with group data and platforms. The company is reviewing various opportunities with a goal of completing an acquisition within the year.

Its global business is also seeking a stage of monetisation. Investment gains have already been reflected financially through the listing of Indonesia Superbank, and Thailand has completed preparations to establish a digital bank. Mongolia is also pushing strategic investment cooperation. KakaoBank aims, based on experience and networks built in the early stage of overseas expansion, to achieve financial performance above a certain level as a share of total revenue over the mid to long term.

Its strategy to expand its customer base has also been specified. KakaoBank plans to launch financial services for foreigners within the year, expanding its customer pool to foreigners currently residing in South Korea. It said it aims to make this a point when its customer base expands significantly from Korean nationals to foreigners.

In asset management, it presented a strategy to boost profitability by taking advantage of a high interest rate environment. Most of its current assets are structured to match maturities, so valuation losses are temporary, and it can achieve target returns when maturities arrive. At the same time, it plans to strengthen its earnings base by investing in high-yield high-quality bonds and expanding absolute-return assets.

KakaoBank will also continue investing to secure technological competitiveness. It will expand infrastructure investment centred on AI and data centres, while keeping the overall cost increase rate within a certain level to maintain efficiency.

A KakaoBank official said, "We are expanding the foundation for growth centred on products, the platform and global business," adding, "We will combine inclusive finance with innovative services to build a sustainable profit structure over the mid to long term."