Line BK, a social banking platform under Kasikornbank (KBank), aims for double-digit loan growth this year, supported by enhanced technological capabilities amid sluggish economic growth.
The joint venture between KBank and Line Corp targets an increase of 3-4 billion baht in new loans this year, 13-18% growth from last year's total loan portfolio of 22 billion baht.
The company wants to expand total loan outstanding from 22 billion baht in 2024 to 25 billion baht in 2025 growing 13.63% year-on-year, said Tana Pothikamjorn, chief executive of Kasikorn Line, which operates Line BK.
According to KBank's 2025 financial targets submitted to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the bank set a flat total loan growth based on an assessment of GDP growth slowing to 2.4%.
Mr Tana said Line BK primarily relies on non-financial alternative data, particularly social media information, for loan approvals, with artificial intelligence (AI) development playing a significant role.
"Given the adoption of social media data, we refer to Line BK as a social banking platform rather than an AI banking platform. We believe Line BK utilises alternative data more than our peers," he said.
Line BK also evaluates customer behaviour, such as utility bill payments and other alternative data, to assess credit risk, covering both the ability to repay and the willingness to repay debt.
The company still uses traditional data, including financial statements and credit records from the National Credit Bureau, depending on data availability from the loan applicant.
With its stronger technological capabilities, Line BK controlled its non-performing loan ratio at 3% last year and aims to maintain this level in 2025.
The company also adjusted its credit scoring and customer segmentation to align with current economic conditions.
Line BK began operations in 2020 and has expanded its active loan accounts to more than 700,000 with 7.4 million total users. In addition to digital lending, the company offers deposit and insurance services.
Mr Tana said the income contribution to major shareholders is expected to improve this year, in line with the company's business growth.
KBank, the country's third-largest lender by total assets and the leader in digital banking services, aims to increase users of its mobile banking app K-Plus to 23.9 million this year, up from 23.1 million, said chief executive Kattiya Indaravijaya at an analysts' meeting last week.
The bank also plans to expand the user base of its mobile banking app for businesses, K-Biz, to 2.1 million by year-end, up from 1.2 million users currently.
KBank is focusing on leveraging advanced technology and AI to help more than 24 million customers reach their full potential, she said.