KB Financial retains profit crown with record W5.79tr earnings

KB Financial Group posted record earnings for the first nine months of 2026, retaining its lead over domestic banking rivals as surging fee income from securities trading and investment products boosted profits.

The group said Thursday its cumulative net profit rose 13.1 percent on-year to an all-time high of 5.79 trillion won ($4.33 billion) for the January-September period.

Third-quarter net profit, however, slipped 4.3 percent from the previous quarter's record to 1.91 trillion won as weaker stock trading activity weighed on fee income.

The group's nine-month net fee and commission income jumped 38.5 percent to 4.09 trillion won, driven by stronger brokerage earnings at KB Securities and increased investment product sales at KB Kookmin Bank.

But momentum slowed in the third quarter, with fee income falling nearly 30 percent from the previous quarter amid cooling stock market activity. Rising interest rates also weighed on securities valuations.

KB Kookmin Bank, the group's flagship lender, posted quarterly net profit of 1.35 trillion won, up 20.1 percent from the previous quarter. Its cumulative profit climbed 6.3 percent on-year to 3.58 trillion won.

Both KB Financial and KB Kookmin Bank maintained their earnings lead over domestic rivals, including Shinhan, Hana and Woori.

KB Securities' quarterly net profit tumbled about 40 percent to 271.2 billion won as stock trading activity weakened. Despite the slowdown, its nine-month profit more than doubled to 1.07 trillion won, up 114.9 percent from a year earlier.

Separately, KB Financial's board approved a quarterly dividend of 1,167 won per share, up 237 won from a year earlier, for a total payout of 404.9 billion won.