Fintech company Finda is moving into the savings bank business after winning regulatory approval to acquire Daewon Savings Bank, the first such approval for a South Korean fintech firm.
Finda said on the 21st that it had received approval from the Financial Services Commission for the change in largest shareholder required to complete the deal.
Daewon Savings Bank, founded in 1988 and headquartered in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, operates in Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and Gangwon State. Its operations have been effectively suspended since 2015, when previous shareholder Daea Savings Bank began seeking a sale. Total assets stood at about 3.1 billion won ($2.2 million) as of the first half of this year.
The acquisition is worth a combined 12 billion won ($8.4 million). Finda will take a 60% stake in Daewon Savings Bank to become its largest shareholder. JB Financial Group will secure the remaining 40% through its affiliate Jeonbuk Bank.
The two sides plan to draw on their respective strengths to improve Daewon Savings Bank's competitiveness. Finda will pursue artificial intelligence-driven innovation in financial services based on financial data and information technology. The Jeonbuk Bank will use its banking experience to support loan asset quality, risk management, internal controls and compliance with financial regulations.
The deal also expands Finda's business from loan comparison and brokerage into the direct supply of financial products. The company plans to offer a range of deposit and lending products, including checking accounts and mid-rate credit loans. It aims to combine AI technology with the financial data gathered through its existing business to develop services tailored to each customer's financial situation and needs. Finda is also working to build an "AI native banking" system that applies AI agents across financial operations to raise productivity.
Launched in 2015, Finda established a platform for growth in May 2019, when its online loan comparison and brokerage service was designated an innovative financial service by the Financial Services Commission. It now partners with 98 financial institutions and brokers more than 300 loan products, with cumulative loan brokerage exceeding 15 trillion won.
"Through this acquisition, we will evolve beyond comparing and brokering financial products into a company that directly designs and provides the financing consumers need," Finda Chief Executive Lee Hye-min said. "We will use the financial data and AI technology built up over more than a decade to respond actively to a wide range of customer needs, create change that financial consumers can feel and lead innovation in the financial industry."