KB Financial Group

Universal bank · Seoul, South Korea

KB Financial Group is South Korea's largest financial holding company, built around KB Kookmin Bank and designated a domestic systemically important bank. It reported net profit of 5.84 trillion won for 2025, up 15.1 percent, with a preliminary CET1 ratio of 13.79 percent. Its five overseas units turned a combined profit of 116.3 billion won in 2025, the first in four years, as losses at the Indonesian subsidiary KB Bank fell by more than 70 percent. KB Kookmin Bank is the real-name account bank for the Bithumb crypto exchange and is part of won-stablecoin alliances formed in 2026. In June 2026 the FSS set penalties of about 600 billion won on KB Kookmin and four other banks over mis-sold Hong Kong H index equity-linked securities.

Legal name: KB Financial Group Inc.
Regulated by: Financial Services Commission (Korea), Financial Supervisory Service (Korea), Bank of Korea, OJK Indonesia (KB Bank)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 2008
Website: www.kbfg.com

Scores, 0 to 10

8.5Financial strength & stability

D-SIB with Aa3/A+/A bank ratings and CET1 13.79 percent. · source

6.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

Largest bank in Korea with a China subsidiary; limited presence in Singapore, Hong Kong or Japan. · source

6.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

Trade finance for Korean exporters with correspondent coverage; small own network abroad. · source

5.5Crypto-friendly bank

Provides real-name fiat accounts to the Bithumb exchange under Korean rules and joined won-stablecoin alliances in 2026. · source

5.5Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

SWIFT and won clearing with a small overseas network of five units. Domestic cash management scale; overseas pooling limited to five units. · source

5.5Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Banks the Bithumb exchange with real-name accounts, which is fiat on-ramp banking for a regulated crypto firm. · source

5.5Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

KB Kookmin Card, the group card company, issues corporate credit and check cards on Visa, Mastercard and American Express through its business portal; the bank itself publishes no English business card page and no zero-FX card. · source

5.5On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

KB Kookmin Bank is the real-name account bank for the Bithumb exchange since March 2025 and agreed in September 2026 to renew for a year, but Korean rules let only a small set of companies trade, and the listed-company phase announced in February 2026 was still pending in July 2026. · source

5.0Lowest fees

No English-language business fee schedule is published by KB Kookmin Bank. · source

5.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

Bithumb withdrawals settle into KB Kookmin real-name accounts, and since May 2025 audited non-profits can open accounts to sell crypto, but most companies cannot yet receive exchange proceeds this way, checked September 2026. · source

4.5Latin America, Africa & South Asia

Majority owner of KB Bank (Bukopin) in Indonesia, rated BBB by Fitch, still loss-making in 2025. · source

4.5Best interest on business balances

Korean corporate deposits pay published won rates; no treasury sweep product is listed in English. · source

4.5Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Domestic merchant settlement through KB Kookmin Card; no cross-border collection accounts. A Korean entity is required, the bank publishes no English API, Stripe or accounting integration and there is no USD receiving account for a software company based elsewhere. · source

4.5Startups & VC-backed companies

Startups are served as SMEs through branch onboarding. · source

4.0Fast digital onboarding

Corporate accounts are opened at Kookmin Bank branches; no online path for foreign companies is listed in English. · source

4.0Customer satisfaction

No reviewed Trustpilot profile; the FSS penalty for mis-sold Hong Kong H index ELS was set in June 2026. · source

3.5Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

A foreign company must first register a Korean company or branch with the court and tax office; an attorney can file under power of attorney but the branch may still require the representative director in person, and foreign ownership triggers enhanced due diligence. · source

2.0High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Korea's Criminal Act Article 246 penalises gambling and Article 247 punishes running a gambling facility with up to five years in prison, only Kangwon Land admits Korean nationals and online gambling is treated the same, so gambling operators cannot be banked. · source

2.0Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

KB Financial tested won stablecoin issuance, won-to-dollar stablecoin conversion and a 3-minute remittance to Vietnam in 2026 proofs of concept, and says it will launch only after Korea's digital asset law passes, so nothing is live for business clients. · source

1.5Accept crypto payments

KB Financial finished a proof of concept in May 2026 with KG Inicis linking won stablecoin QR payments to merchant settlement, but it is a test with no live merchant product. · source

1.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

KB Kookmin Bank holds no crypto for clients; in 2026 the group is only signing technical agreements with custodians such as Anchorage Digital and running stablecoin tests, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Bitcoin

KB offers no bitcoin buying, holding or custody to any client; its crypto link is the Bithumb account partnership, checked September 2026. · source

1.0Ethereum

KB offers no ether buying, holding or staking to any client, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.