Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Equity Capital Markets

Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. / Equity Capital Markets

Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS)

<div class="content-highlight">According to K-Bank, it gained 1.72 million new customers in 1Q 2021. This was more than the 1.57 million customers that K-Bank gained from 2018 to 2020. It is estimated about 70% of K-Bank's new customers in 2021 are young people in their 20s and 30s that are flocking to K-Bank to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum at the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, which requires the users to have an account at K-Bank to deposit or withdraw money for cryptocurrency trading.</div><a href="https://www.hankyung.com/finance/article/2021041583121" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Korea Value Asset Mgmt</a> has a 27.1% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Value Asset Mgmt is 100% owned by Korea Investment &amp; Securities, which is also 100% owned by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/korea-investment-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14839:1" rel="noopener">Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS)</a>. Thus, Korea Investment &amp; Securities directly and indirectly owns 31.8% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Investment &amp; Securities currently has a market cap of 5.8 trillion won. If Kakao Bank is valued at 20 trillion won, a 31.8% stake in the company would be worth 6.4 trillion won, which would be worth 110% of Korea Investment &amp; Securities' market cap. Therefore, although the exact number of how many new licenses for Internet banks remains uncertain, we believe that there could be any many as 2 to 3+ new Internet banks in the next 2-3 years. It is probably no coincidence that Kakao Bank is trying to complete its IPO this year. Kakao Bank will be aiming to accelerate this IPO prior to the Korean government giving out new licenses for Internet banks this year.

According to K-Bank, it gained 1.72 million new customers in 1Q 2021. This was more than the 1.57 million customers that K-Bank gained from 2018 to 2020. It is estimated about 70% of K-Bank's new customers in 2021 are young people in their 20s and 30s that are flocking to K-Bank to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum at the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, which requires the users to have an account at K-Bank to deposit or withdraw money for cryptocurrency trading.Korea Value Asset Mgmt has a 27.1% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Value Asset Mgmt is 100% owned by Korea Investment &amp; Securities, which is also 100% owned by Korea Investment Holdings Co, Ltd. (071050 KS). Thus, Korea Investment &amp; Securities directly and indirectly owns 31.8% stake in Kakao Bank. Korea Investment &amp; Securities currently has a market cap of 5.8 trillion won. If Kakao Bank is valued at 20 trillion won, a 31.8% stake in the company would be worth 6.4 trillion won, which would be worth 110% of Korea Investment &amp; Securities' market cap. Therefore, although the exact number of how many new licenses for Internet banks remains uncertain, we believe that there could be any many as 2 to 3+ new Internet banks in the next 2-3 years. It is probably no coincidence that Kakao Bank is trying to complete its IPO this year. Kakao Bank will be aiming to accelerate this IPO prior to the Korean government giving out new licenses for Internet banks this year. 

K-Bank Vs. Kakao Bank: A Big Change in New Customers Driven by Cryptos

Financials Credit Analyst

Hank Calenti, CFA

CreditContinuum

Credit

Executive Summary: The narrative has changed and there is little to stand in the way of further Treasury market strength near term. This should lead to US dollar weakness and may be Emerging Market risk asset supportive. Nonetheless, we suspect that Asia will remain driven by concerns that China is tightening which could constrain investor sentiment in this market.Trading volume-, Treasury issuance- and economic data-risks were no match for short-position unwinding, data reappraisal, and Japanese investor re-entry into the Treasury bond market over the last week. Treasury yields continued their retracement, posting their biggest weekly rally since August. Furthermore, after the worst quarter since 1980, Treasuries have gained around 1% this month, paring 2021 losses to about 3.3%. We may have seen a sell-the-rumor, buy-the-fact market event occur with respect to Treasuries and the better-than-expected March economic data set.The narrative has changed to one that is Treasury bond supportive. Fixed income markets are discounting lower economic growth and price expectations. Scenarios with a declining growth rate may be increasingly discounted in the Treasury markets. With GDP growth anticipated to tail-off over the next few quarters, sustainable wage growth may not materialize. Meanwhile, supply chain bottlenecks and rising producer prices may negatively impact corporate margins rather than consumer wallets. We elaborate on each of these themes within.Against this backdrop, there are limited economic announcements which could impact the Treasury market over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Japanese investors may find buying US$ denominated bonds attractive after hedging the currency risk. This may be risk asset supportive going forward.  We review this inside.In the bank credit markets, March’s carry trade outperformance continued to unwind as shorter-duration bonds outperformed during the week. All recent higher coupon outperformers experienced large spread declines. Even the Turkish bank credit curve behaved in a manner consistent with other bonds globally, rather than trade at a discount. We identify the winners and losers.In China, while the immediate threat of Credit Armageddon may be lower, the ultimate game plan for China Huarong Asset Management is yet to be known. As such, the market may remain skittish while trading opportunities remain amongst the other asset management companies. Please see: <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/compose/insight/50463/China%20Huarong:%20Contagion%20Creates%20Opportunity.%20Read%20more:%20https:/skr.ma/SmFJQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Huarong: Contagion Creates Opportunity</a> for more details.US banks set a high bar for performance by announcing stellar investment banking and progressively improving core banking results last week. Then they signaled that they anticipate significantly higher interest rates later this year by hitting the market for record breaking amounts. Middle East- and Asia-headquartered banks may lead the headlines next week. Amongst major European names, only Credit Suisse is scheduled to provide final Q1 results on Tuesday, 20 April. For our thoughts, please see: <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/compose/insight/50463/Credit%20Suisse:%20Skating%20on%20a%20Thin%20Layer%20of%20Capital.%20Read%20more:%20https:/skr.ma/rGLd5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Credit Suisse: Skating on a Thin Layer of Capital</a>.Market Outlook: Already looking past upcoming spikes in inflation and job creation, the Treasury market is repricing for lower growth and lower rates over a longer time-period. This should be risk asset supportive as the US dollar finally weakens. The risk is that of impotent monetary policy and a constrained fiscal response in a shorter than expected business cycle.

Executive Summary: The narrative has changed and there is little to stand in the way of further Treasury market strength near term. This should lead to US dollar weakness and may be Emerging Market risk asset supportive. Nonetheless, we suspect that Asia will remain driven by concerns that China is tightening which could constrain investor sentiment in this market.Trading volume-, Treasury issuance- and economic data-risks were no match for short-position unwinding, data reappraisal, and Japanese investor re-entry into the Treasury bond market over the last week. Treasury yields continued their retracement, posting their biggest weekly rally since August. Furthermore, after the worst quarter since 1980, Treasuries have gained around 1% this month, paring 2021 losses to about 3.3%. We may have seen a sell-the-rumor, buy-the-fact market event occur with respect to Treasuries and the better-than-expected March economic data set.The narrative has changed to one that is Treasury bond supportive. Fixed income markets are discounting lower economic growth and price expectations. Scenarios with a declining growth rate may be increasingly discounted in the Treasury markets. With GDP growth anticipated to tail-off over the next few quarters, sustainable wage growth may not materialize. Meanwhile, supply chain bottlenecks and rising producer prices may negatively impact corporate margins rather than consumer wallets. We elaborate on each of these themes within.Against this backdrop, there are limited economic announcements which could impact the Treasury market over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Japanese investors may find buying US$ denominated bonds attractive after hedging the currency risk. This may be risk asset supportive going forward.  We review this inside.In the bank credit markets, March’s carry trade outperformance continued to unwind as shorter-duration bonds outperformed during the week. All recent higher coupon outperformers experienced large spread declines. Even the Turkish bank credit curve behaved in a manner consistent with other bonds globally, rather than trade at a discount. We identify the winners and losers.In China, while the immediate threat of Credit Armageddon may be lower, the ultimate game plan for China Huarong Asset Management is yet to be known. As such, the market may remain skittish while trading opportunities remain amongst the other asset management companies. Please see: China Huarong: Contagion Creates Opportunity for more details.US banks set a high bar for performance by announcing stellar investment banking and progressively improving core banking results last week. Then they signaled that they anticipate significantly higher interest rates later this year by hitting the market for record breaking amounts. Middle East- and Asia-headquartered banks may lead the headlines next week. Amongst major European names, only Credit Suisse is scheduled to provide final Q1 results on Tuesday, 20 April. For our thoughts, please see: Credit Suisse: Skating on a Thin Layer of Capital.Market Outlook: Already looking past upcoming spikes in inflation and job creation, the Treasury market is repricing for lower growth and lower rates over a longer time-period. This should be risk asset supportive as the US dollar finally weakens. The risk is that of impotent monetary policy and a constrained fiscal response in a shorter than expected business cycle.  

Bank Credit Weekly: Narrative Change Pushes Carry-Trade Unwind as Treasuries Rally

Global Bank Equity Specialist, Creative Portfolios

Paul Hollingworth

Global Bank Equity Specialist

Creative Portfolios

Equity Bottom-Up

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kb-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:718:1" rel="noopener">Kb Financial Group (105560 KS)</a> 
KB Financial combines a diversified operational profile (with increasing non-banking revenue streams), robust fundamental trends, with a low valuation and benign capital return potential in a market which has shown resilience and recovery this year, helped by existing Pandemic protocols.
Results are satisfactory given the low-margin environment. Our PH Score™ shows that the bank is making headway. The top-line shows vibrant growth of non-interest Income, which offsets a flat Net Interest Income result, slightly better Efficiency, while Liquidity (driven by core Deposits), Provisioning, and headline Asset Quality (as opposed to “reported investment of impaired Loans”) are improving somewhat. Capital Adequacy reveals some erosion, as does NIM, but still remains better than the system average. The bottom-line was impacted lower by modestly higher Credit Costs as elsewhere on a YoY basis though LLPs climbed this quarter while banks in other jurisdictions took lower costs QoQ. Comprehensive Income and Net Profit still showed moderate progression YoY which in today’s context is encouraging.
KB Financial targets a DPR to 30% in the medium term versus 26% at FY19. Korean bank DPR’s are low. In addition, KB Financial may pay dividends on a semi-annual basis in the future. Last year, the Group cancelled 8% of its total treasury shares. There may be more share buybacks and treasury share cancellations in 2021. With M&amp;A on the backburner, the Group will focus on integration of its existing asset base, freeing up space for dividends and share buybacks.
Earlier this year, The Carlyle Group invested in KRW240 billion worth of zero-coupon exchangeable bonds issued by KB Financial Group. Assuming the exchange price for the exchangeable bonds was a fair reflection of the KB Financial's intrinsic value, this transaction was a “no-brainer” for existing or new equity investors. There was no dilution for existing shareholders either as KB Financial set aside treasury shares for the exchange of shares as part of the deal.
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For such a solid, diversified, franchise, with enhanced capital returns ahead, valuations still appeal: a FV of 6%, a PBV of 0.45x, an Earnings Yield of 19.3%, a Dividend Yield of 4.8%, and a TRR (Total Return Ratio) of 2.85x. A PH Score™ of 8.5 is top quartile globally. According to our VFM (Valuation, Fundamentals, Valuation) model, KB Financial resides in the top decile globally, from over 1400 banks.
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Kb Financial Group (105560 KS) 
KB Financial combines a diversified operational profile (with increasing non-banking revenue streams), robust fundamental trends, with a low valuation and benign capital return potential in a market which has shown resilience and recovery this year, helped by existing Pandemic protocols.
Results are satisfactory given the low-margin environment. Our PH Score™ shows that the bank is making headway. The top-line shows vibrant growth of non-interest Income, which offsets a flat Net Interest Income result, slightly better Efficiency, while Liquidity (driven by core Deposits), Provisioning, and headline Asset Quality (as opposed to “reported investment of impaired Loans”) are improving somewhat. Capital Adequacy reveals some erosion, as does NIM, but still remains better than the system average. The bottom-line was impacted lower by modestly higher Credit Costs as elsewhere on a YoY basis though LLPs climbed this quarter while banks in other jurisdictions took lower costs QoQ. Comprehensive Income and Net Profit still showed moderate progression YoY which in today’s context is encouraging.
KB Financial targets a DPR to 30% in the medium term versus 26% at FY19. Korean bank DPR’s are low. In addition, KB Financial may pay dividends on a semi-annual basis in the future. Last year, the Group cancelled 8% of its total treasury shares. There may be more share buybacks and treasury share cancellations in 2021. With M&amp;A on the backburner, the Group will focus on integration of its existing asset base, freeing up space for dividends and share buybacks.
Earlier this year, The Carlyle Group invested in KRW240 billion worth of zero-coupon exchangeable bonds issued by KB Financial Group. Assuming the exchange price for the exchangeable bonds was a fair reflection of the KB Financial's intrinsic value, this transaction was a “no-brainer” for existing or new equity investors. There was no dilution for existing shareholders either as KB Financial set aside treasury shares for the exchange of shares as part of the deal.

For such a solid, diversified, franchise, with enhanced capital returns ahead, valuations still appeal: a FV of 6%, a PBV of 0.45x, an Earnings Yield of 19.3%, a Dividend Yield of 4.8%, and a TRR (Total Return Ratio) of 2.85x. A PH Score™ of 8.5 is top quartile globally. According to our VFM (Valuation, Fundamentals, Valuation) model, KB Financial resides in the top decile globally, from over 1400 banks.


2021 High Conviction - KB Financial Group: Buy Ahead of Initiatives to Galvanise Shareholder Value

Executive Summary: We noted last weekend that Treasury yields could gap down as True-Blue election sweep expectations declined and that bank valuations would follow. Both outcomes took place during the first part of the week. President Trump has gained enough in polls for traders with bearish positions in long-dated Treasuries to start unwinding them.  If Republicans’ retain the Senate, then fiscal stimulus may be lower than currently expected.  The December VIX future may also underprice the risk of a contested election result while thin markets keep volatility elevated.On Wednesday, most US stock indices posted their biggest single-day drop since June while European shares met five-month lows. As such, implied equity volatility jumped to its highest readings in 6 weeks. The US dollar and commodities also exhibited risk-off behaviour. Soaring Coronavirus cases in the US and Europe added to market jitters on the eventual time to a US federal stimulus package. The lack of a strong bullish reaction in Treasuries while equities sold-off reinforced concerns that low yields significantly reduce hedging protection. Within this background, Asia’s Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds underperformed Tier 2 and Senior Unsecured securities, in concert with developed market risk-off sentiment. The top performing bonds were overwhelmingly short maturity Senior Unsecured in nature. Asia’s HY markets slightly outperformed the US’ as both indexes widened during the week. The relative outperformance of Asia versus the US resulted in slight spread compression between the two indexes, although the remain wide of last year’s average and this years’ tights.Financial institutions only issued US$4.5 billion in USD and Euros. Amongst Asia-headquartered banks, the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/industrial-bank-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19515:1" rel="noopener">Industrial Bank Co Ltd A (601166 CH)</a> and Kookmin Bank (<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kb-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:718:1" rel="noopener">KB Financial Group (105560 KS))</a> were the only financial institutions to access global capital market during the week. The primary market issuance window may be closing very early this year.In terms of potential mergers and acquisitions, Bloomberg reported that <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kotak-mahindra-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:126:1" rel="noopener">Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB IN)</a> is considering an offer for IndusInd Bank, which IndusInd subsequently denied. Please see <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/kotak-indusind-happy-indusind-bondholders-move-to-overweight" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:44542" rel="noopener">Kotak + IndusInd = Happy IndusInd Bondholders; Move to Overweight</a> for more details. On Friday, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/indusind-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1558:1" rel="noopener">Indusind Bank (IIB IN)</a> reported a 53% year-on-year decline in second quarter net profit that missed average analyst estimates. Despite the earnings miss and acquisition dismissal, IndusInd’s 3 7/8% coupon bond rose in price during the week.Market Outlook: Market reactions to soaring Coronavirus contagion, underpriced election outcome risks and sidelined treasury investors may augment market illiquidity and impact bank valuation over the near term.

Executive Summary: We noted last weekend that Treasury yields could gap down as True-Blue election sweep expectations declined and that bank valuations would follow. Both outcomes took place during the first part of the week. President Trump has gained enough in polls for traders with bearish positions in long-dated Treasuries to start unwinding them.  If Republicans’ retain the Senate, then fiscal stimulus may be lower than currently expected.  The December VIX future may also underprice the risk of a contested election result while thin markets keep volatility elevated.On Wednesday, most US stock indices posted their biggest single-day drop since June while European shares met five-month lows. As such, implied equity volatility jumped to its highest readings in 6 weeks. The US dollar and commodities also exhibited risk-off behaviour. Soaring Coronavirus cases in the US and Europe added to market jitters on the eventual time to a US federal stimulus package. The lack of a strong bullish reaction in Treasuries while equities sold-off reinforced concerns that low yields significantly reduce hedging protection. Within this background, Asia’s Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds underperformed Tier 2 and Senior Unsecured securities, in concert with developed market risk-off sentiment. The top performing bonds were overwhelmingly short maturity Senior Unsecured in nature. Asia’s HY markets slightly outperformed the US’ as both indexes widened during the week. The relative outperformance of Asia versus the US resulted in slight spread compression between the two indexes, although the remain wide of last year’s average and this years’ tights.Financial institutions only issued US$4.5 billion in USD and Euros. Amongst Asia-headquartered banks, the Industrial Bank Co Ltd A (601166 CH) and Kookmin Bank (KB Financial Group (105560 KS)) were the only financial institutions to access global capital market during the week. The primary market issuance window may be closing very early this year.In terms of potential mergers and acquisitions, Bloomberg reported that Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB IN) is considering an offer for IndusInd Bank, which IndusInd subsequently denied. Please see Kotak + IndusInd = Happy IndusInd Bondholders; Move to Overweight for more details. On Friday, Indusind Bank (IIB IN) reported a 53% year-on-year decline in second quarter net profit that missed average analyst estimates. Despite the earnings miss and acquisition dismissal, IndusInd’s 3 7/8% coupon bond rose in price during the week.Market Outlook: Market reactions to soaring Coronavirus contagion, underpriced election outcome risks and sidelined treasury investors may augment market illiquidity and impact bank valuation over the near term.

Bank Credit Weekly: Risk Reduction on Election and Virus Uncertainty

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kb-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:718:1" rel="noopener">Kb Financial Group (105560 KS)</a> <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kb-financial-group-inc-adr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6238:1" rel="noopener">Kb Financial Group Inc Adr (KB US)</a> Perhaps KB management has seen the future of banking and is taking initiatives to diversify the Group’s operations away from traditional fractional reserve/banking intermediation/magic (depending on your philosophical bias) towards higher potential areas such as Insurance, Asset Management, IB, and fintech. As a supplier of credit for investment-led growth, the bank still maintains committed. (Countries need banks to grow! And more the better as testified by the high growth track records of Germany, China, and Japan prior to the bursting of the bubble).Results are satisfactory given the low-margin environment. Our PH Score™ shows that the bank is making marked headway on most fronts. The top-line shows vibrant growth of non-interest Income, which offsets a flat Net Interest Income result, better Efficiency, while Liquidity (driven by core Deposits) and Asset Quality are improving somewhat. Capital Adequacy reveals some erosion but still remains better than the system average. The bottom-line was impacted lower by higher Credit Costs as elsewhere on a YoY basis though LLPs climbed notably this quarter while banks in other jurisdictions took lower costs QoQ. Comprehensive Income and Net Profit still showed moderate progression YoY.Fee Income expanded forcefully at Q320LTM, reaching 20% of Operating Income. With the acquisition of Prudential Life, the 5th largest life insurance company, the bank shifts its focus away from net interest Income or banking even more.  In fact at 9M20, non-banking business reached 40% of Net Profit while Insurance commanded 12% of Assets and 11% of Net Profit. Prudential brings to the table higher-than-average investment yields and low loss ratios, cross-selling opportunity, ample synergies, and a stronger position in Asset Management.For such a solid, diversified, franchise, valuations are not stretched though South Korean banks are always battling against the “value trap” thesis. A FV of 5%, a PBV of 0.41x, an Earnings Yield of 21.2%, and a Dividend Yield of 5.2% are certainly not unappealing. A PH Score™ of 9.4 is top decile globally.<div class="content-highlight">The PH Score™ is a fundamental momentum-quantamental score that scores banks according to changes in value-quality. The Score encompasses Profitability, Operating Efficiency, Liquidity, Capital, Asset Quality, and Coverage as well as a valuation variable. Scores lie between 0 and 10, with higher scores representing more positive signs. The PH Score™ was back tested over 2007-17 for global banks and conclusively shows progressively higher returns across quintiles ranked by Score. </div>

Kb Financial Group (105560 KS) Kb Financial Group Inc Adr (KB US) Perhaps KB management has seen the future of banking and is taking initiatives to diversify the Group’s operations away from traditional fractional reserve/banking intermediation/magic (depending on your philosophical bias) towards higher potential areas such as Insurance, Asset Management, IB, and fintech. As a supplier of credit for investment-led growth, the bank still maintains committed. (Countries need banks to grow! And more the better as testified by the high growth track records of Germany, China, and Japan prior to the bursting of the bubble).Results are satisfactory given the low-margin environment. Our PH Score™ shows that the bank is making marked headway on most fronts. The top-line shows vibrant growth of non-interest Income, which offsets a flat Net Interest Income result, better Efficiency, while Liquidity (driven by core Deposits) and Asset Quality are improving somewhat. Capital Adequacy reveals some erosion but still remains better than the system average. The bottom-line was impacted lower by higher Credit Costs as elsewhere on a YoY basis though LLPs climbed notably this quarter while banks in other jurisdictions took lower costs QoQ. Comprehensive Income and Net Profit still showed moderate progression YoY.Fee Income expanded forcefully at Q320LTM, reaching 20% of Operating Income. With the acquisition of Prudential Life, the 5th largest life insurance company, the bank shifts its focus away from net interest Income or banking even more.  In fact at 9M20, non-banking business reached 40% of Net Profit while Insurance commanded 12% of Assets and 11% of Net Profit. Prudential brings to the table higher-than-average investment yields and low loss ratios, cross-selling opportunity, ample synergies, and a stronger position in Asset Management.For such a solid, diversified, franchise, valuations are not stretched though South Korean banks are always battling against the “value trap” thesis. A FV of 5%, a PBV of 0.41x, an Earnings Yield of 21.2%, and a Dividend Yield of 5.2% are certainly not unappealing. A PH Score™ of 9.4 is top decile globally.The PH Score™ is a fundamental momentum-quantamental score that scores banks according to changes in value-quality. The Score encompasses Profitability, Operating Efficiency, Liquidity, Capital, Asset Quality, and Coverage as well as a valuation variable. Scores lie between 0 and 10, with higher scores representing more positive signs. The PH Score™ was back tested over 2007-17 for global banks and conclusively shows progressively higher returns across quintiles ranked by Score. 

KB Financial : Diversifying into Higher Margin Areas

South Korea

KB Financial Group Inc. (the "Company"), in accordance with Financial Holding Companies Act, was established on September 29, 2008, through stock transfer with the former shareholders of its subsidiaries including Kookmin Bank in order to provide management services and financing to associated companies. The headquarters are located at Seoul, Korea

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KB Financial ADR (KB US)

K-Bank Vs. Kakao Bank: A Big Change in New Customers Driven by Cryptos

In this insight, we discuss the exploding growth of new customers at K-Bank, the IPO expectations of Kakao Bank, and the likelihood of additional...

Douglas Kim

Bank Credit Weekly: Narrative Change Pushes Carry-Trade Unwind as Treasuries Rally

The narrative has changed. There is little to stand in the way of further Treasury market strength near term. This should lead to US$ weakness and...

Hank Calenti, CFA

2021 High Conviction - KB Financial Group: Buy Ahead of Initiatives to Galvanise Shareholder Value

KB Financial Group combines positive fundamental trends with capital return potential in a market which shows resilience and recovery.

Paul Hollingworth

Bank Credit Weekly: Risk Reduction on Election and Virus Uncertainty

Market reactions to soaring Coronavirus contagion, underpriced election outcome risks and sidelined treasury investors may augment market...

Hank Calenti, CFA

KB Financial : Diversifying into Higher Margin Areas

A FV of 5%, a PBV of 0.41x, an Earnings Yield of 21.2%, and a Dividend Yield of 5.2% are certainly not unappealing. A PH Score™ of 9.4 is top...

Paul Hollingworth

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