Brokerage house Korea Investment Holdings and Daum KaKao have agreed to create a consortium to launch an online-only bank in South Korea.
Korea Investment Holdings will hold a 50% stake in the consortium, while Daum KaKao will own a 10% stake. An unnamed tech firm will own 30% stake in the venture, while the remaining stake will be owned by four commercial lenders such as Hana Bank.
Online-only bank will provide services ranging from deposits, lending and cards to foreign exchange transactions.
The country’s existing financial laws restricts a non-financial company from holding more than 4% stake in a bank.
However, in order to induce local IT firms to invest in the sector, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced new rules in June 2015 which enables a non-financial firm to own a 50% stake in an internet bank.

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