Kasikorn Bank, also known as KBank, is one of the largest commercial banks in Thailand. The bank was established in 1945 and has since grown to become a prominent player in the Thai financial market.
The bank has a reputation for innovation and has been a leader in introducing new digital banking products and services to the Thai market.
As of May 2023, the largest shareholder of Kasikornbank is the Thai Ministry of Finance, which owns approximately 23% of the bank’s shares. Other significant shareholders include foreign institutional investors and domestic institutional investors, as well as individual investors.
It’s worth noting that Thai law prohibits any single shareholder from owning more than 10% of the voting shares in a Thai bank, so no one shareholder has a controlling stake in Kasikornbank. Instead, the bank’s operations are overseen by its board of directors, which is composed of a mix of independent and non-independent directors.
Kasikornbank has faced some controversy over the years. In 2020, Kasikornbank experienced a data breach that compromised the personal information of around 3.1 million customers. The bank quickly took steps to address the breach and strengthen its cybersecurity protocols, but the incident raised concerns about data privacy and security.
In 2018, a former Kasikornbank executive was accused of insider trading in connection with the bank’s acquisition of a stake in Thai Life Insurance. The executive denied the allegations, but the case received significant media attention and led to increased scrutiny of the bank’s corporate governance practices.
In 2014, Kasikornbank was among the Thai companies that were targeted by PDRC protesters who accused the bank of supporting the government. The protests caused disruptions to the bank’s operations and raised concerns about the potential impact of political instability on Thailand’s financial sector.
It’s worth noting that Kasikornbank has taken steps to address these and other issues, and the bank has generally maintained a strong reputation in the Thai financial market.
- Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand
- Number of branches: Over 1,000 domestic branches and 12 international branches
- Number of employees: Around 26,000
- Services: Kasikornbank provides a wide range of financial services, including retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, asset management, insurance, and digital banking.
- Market capitalization: As of May 2023, Kasikornbank’s market capitalization is approximately 1.5 trillion Thai baht (around 48 billion US dollars).