KB Financial Group builds the first agentic AI-based portal in the finance sector

KB Financial Group Digital Innovation

KB Financial Group is pushing the adoption of more than 250 AI agents across approximately 39 key business areas, based on the 'KB AI Strategy' and the 'KB AI Agent Roadmap.' The goal is to generate tangible value through AI technology. Jong-Hee Yang, Chairman of KB Financial Group, recently told group executives, "People should say that if you want to do finance AI, you have to go to KB," emphasizing, "We must expand our investments so that when people think of finance AI, they think of KB."

In pursuit of this, KB Financial Group established the 'KB GenAI Portal' last April, marking the finance sector's first environment for utilizing agentic AI. The aim is to transform employee work methods and lead the advancement of financial services for customers.

The KB GenAI Portal was developed with the goal of gaining a technological edge in generative AI as we enter the era of agentic AI, and to universalize its use across all business operations, thereby revolutionizing productivity and work styles. In December last year, eight affiliates received regulatory designation for innovative financial services based on this platform, the highest number among all companies in the Korean financial sector.

With this portal, KB Financial Group believes it has secured △flexibility and scalability to respond to rapidly changing AI technology, △safety and reliability in utilizing AI technology within the financial industry, and △cost efficiency through sharing a groupwide platform. A company representative stated, "We have laid the cornerstone for AI capability that will lead Korea's financial industry by leveraging generative AI in a practical manner."

Within the platform, all field employees, whether beginner (no-code), intermediate (simple coding), or advanced (professional developer level), are provided with a tiered development environment so that anyone can utilize AI and develop their own agents. This means even employees without IT experience can develop and apply AI directly to their work.

KB Kookmin Bank, KB Securities, KB Insurance, KB Kookmin Card, KB Life Insurance, KB Asset Management, KB Capital, and KB Savings Bank—eight subsidiaries in total—plan to offer tailored financial services through a variety of innovative financial services utilizing generative AI. Major services designated as innovative financial services last December included the 'Financial Consultation Agent' (KB Kookmin Bank), 'AI Integrated Financial Platform KAVIE' (KB Securities), and 'Everybody's Card Life Mate' (KB Kookmin Card).

A KB Financial Group representative commented, "With the designation of these innovative financial services, KB has laid the groundwork to stay ahead in the fast-approaching AI-centered financial innovation race, using group synergy as a foundation. We will continue to swiftly adopt generative AI to enhance both business efficiency at our subsidiaries and convenience for customers through our ongoing AI transformation strategy."

In addition, at the end of last year, KB Financial Group expanded its existing Financial AI Center into two centers through a regular organizational restructuring and recruited external experts with real-world experience and technical expertise as executives.

Jae-Won Park reporter wonderful@hankyung.com