K-Bank faces overhang risk as 20% of shares exit lock-up

K-Bank is facing potential market volatility following the expiration of lock-up restrictions on approximately 83.77 million shares, representing 20.65% of its total outstanding stock. The released volume is valued at roughly 470 to 480 billion won based on recent closing prices.

Major shareholders included in this release are Woori Bank and NH Investment & Securities, whose combined holdings account for approximately 69.4% of the unlocked shares. Woori Bank alone holds 37.39 million shares, or 9.22% of K-Bank. The potential for these entities to sell their holdings has become a significant supply variable, especially as K-Bank's current stock price remains well below its initial public offering (IPO) price of 8,300 won.

While the expiration of lock-up periods creates overhang concerns, K-Bank's financial performance shows signs of improvement. The bank reported a net interest margin (NIM) of 1.59% for the first half of the year, up 0.21 percentage points from the previous year. Additionally, loan balances grew to nearly 20 trillion won by the end of the second quarter, driven largely by a significant increase in SOHO loans.