OK Savings Bank Joins Korea SOHO Bank Consortium

OK Savings Bank, a core affiliate of OK Financial Group, has officially joined the Korea SOHO Bank consortium led by Korea Credit Data (KCD), taking on the challenge of establishing the 4th internet-only bank, a first for the savings bank industry. OK Savings Bank's participation is expected to provide the Korea SOHO Bank consortium with a unique competitive advantage. By establishing a strong united front, 'an alliance with a savings bank,' which competing consortiums lack, it will be able to introduce innovative linked products and differentiated financial services spanning both the first and second financial sectors. This is expected to significantly contribute to realizing true inclusive finance covering all middle to low-credit individuals and resolving blind spots for the financially underprivileged. With OK Savings Bank joining, the number of financial institutions within the Korea SOHO Bank consortium has increased to five. Alongside Woori Bank, Woori Card, Eugene Investment & Securities, and NH NongHyup Bank, OK Savings Bank is now part of the group, making it the largest consortium pushing for the establishment of a new internet-only bank. Megazone Cloud and ITcen have officially announced their participation as non-financial companies. KCD, which leads the consortium, based on its business management service 'Cashnote' used by 1.7 million small business owners nationwide, provides services to 2.3 million businesses nationwide through its affiliate companies, including Korea Payment Networks, an online/offline payment specialist, and I'mU, a POS/kiosk specialist. Cashnote has evolved beyond a simple ledger and sales management app into a super app that manages all aspects of small business owners' operations, including business management, financial services, product purchasing, and community features. In particular, a core competitive strength of the KCD consortium lies in its sophisticated credit evaluation capabilities specialized for small business owners. Korea Evaluation Information, established by KCD, is the nation's only full-time credit rating agency for individual business owners, and already provides credit evaluation models based on individual business owners' operational information to numerous financial institutions. This credit evaluation model has attracted investments from six major banks, including a new investment from Hana Bank this year, as well as KB Kookmin Bank, iM Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, JB Jeonbuk Bank, and KakaoBank, firmly cementing its excellence in the market. An OK Savings Bank official expressed their aspiration, stating, "By combining our accumulated know-how in retail finance with KCD's Cashnote data from 1.7 million businesses, we will provide differentiated financial services and actively contribute to expanding inclusive finance." A KCD official also emphasized, "With OK Savings Bank's joining as a stepping stone, preparations for the preliminary application for Korea SOHO Bank are smoothly concluding, and we are committed to successfully launching 'Korea's No. 1 Small Business Bank,' providing customized financial services tailored to small business owners and small enterprises based on data."