South Korea’s Toss Bank weighs funding at $3 billion valuation

BLOOMBERG 

Toss Bank is considering raising funds from private investors in a fresh round that might boost the South Korean digital lender’s valuation to as much as $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Seoul-based company is working with a financial adviser to raise $300 million to $500 million, the people said. Both new and existing investors have shown preliminary interest, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. Toss Bank is seeking a valuation of $2 billion to $3 billion in the new round and plans to use the proceeds to accelerate its expansion, the people said.
Deliberations are at an early stage and details such as the size of the round and value could change, the people said. Toss Bank, as a newly-established bank, has been seeking sound opportunities for fundraising but nothing has been decided on raising funds from foreign investors, its representative said in response to a Bloomberg News query.
Viva Republica Inc, a financial technology firm founded in 2013 by dentist-turned-entrepreneur Lee Seung-gun, operates super app Toss and its recent digital lending spinoff, Toss Bank. With more than 22 million subscribers, Toss is an all-in-one digital platform that offers more than 50 financial services including insurance, payments, credit scoring and securities trading.
Toss Bank was launched in 2021 after receiving South Korea’s third internet banking license. It takes deposits and offers loans to customers, competing against traditional incumbents like KB Financial Group Inc as well as internet-only rivals such as Kakao Bank.
Toss Bank had about 6 million customers as of March 27, up from 5.4 million at the end of 2022, according to a company statement. The online lender said it expects to post a net profit in the second half of this year after a net loss of about 264 billion won ($202 million) in 2022.