KB Private Banking: Gold&Wise and the FIRST at Korea's largest financial group

Concept

KB Private Banking is the private-banking business run inside KB Kookmin Bank's wealth-management (WM) organisation, the flagship bank of KB Financial Group — South Korea's largest financial group: total assets KRW 757.8tn as of 31 Dec 2024 and FY2025 net income of KRW 5,840bn, the country's top profit. Group-level WM coordination runs through a new holding-company WM division created in the Dec 2025 reorganisation. Brand ladder: KB GOLD&WISE (flagship PB brand, launched 2002) → Star PB centres → KB GOLD&WISE the FIRST (UHNW brand, launched Aug 2022; flagship Apgujeong, plus Banpo and Dogok). Current, press-verified tiers (thresholds raised amid "rich inflation"): GOLD&WISE entry at KRW 500m financial assets (raised from KRW 300m effective 1 Jul 2026), Star PB centres KRW 1bn+, the FIRST KRW 3bn+; the KB the FIRST Family Office targets KRW 10bn+ personal financial assets.

History and evolution

• 1963 — Kookmin Bank founded.
• 1967 — Korea Housing & Commercial Bank established.
• Nov 2001 — merger creates KB Kookmin Bank.
• 2002 — GOLD&WISE private-banking brand launched.
• 29 Sep 2008 — KB Financial Group established.
• 2016–2017 — KB Securities formed (KB I&S + Hyundai Securities).
• Jul 2020 — first KB Golden Life senior advisory centre.
• Aug 2022 — GOLD&WISE the FIRST UHNW brand launched.
• 2024–2026 — Banpo and Dogok centres opened; family-office rebrand.

Regulation

KB Kookmin Bank is supervised by the FSS/FSC, with KDIC deposit insurance. A structural note: Korean banks legally cannot run discretionary portfolio management (DPM/일임업) — discretion products sit at KB Securities, and the bank+securities "one-team" joint PB centres operate under the GOLD&WISE brand. Leadership (mid-transition): Group Chairman & CEO Yang Jong-hee (since 21 Nov 2023) serves until Nov 2026; on 11 Sep 2026 the nominating committee picked Lee Jae-keun (KB Kookmin Bank CEO 2022–2024) as chairman-designate, with formal appointment at the extraordinary AGM on 20 Nov 2026. KB Kookmin Bank CEO: Lee Hwan-ju (since 2 Jan 2025). Compliance context: Hong Kong H-index ELS misselling — KB Kookmin was the largest seller (KRW 8.197tn of ~16.3tn bank-channel sales); KRW 862bn compensation provision booked (Q1 2024); industry voluntary compensation ~KRW 1.34tn with 96% settlement; the FSS sanctions panel (4 Jun 2026) set combined fines for five banks at ~KRW 600bn with KB's share the largest; the stated amount relates to the FSS review stage. Final fine amounts are determined by a separate FSC decision and should not be equated with the sanctions panel’s preliminary assessment. KFTC, 21 Jan 2026 — KRW 69.747bn fine on KB Kookmin (LTV information-exchange collusion 2022–2024, part of KRW 272bn across four banks), according to the official decision. FSC, Dec 2025 — KRW 36m administrative fine (ELT sales recording duties). KB Securities, Dec 2024 — KRW 500m criminal fine (summary indictment) over Lime fund sales.

Source of wealth

Typical client wealth origins (see source of funds): SME and conglomerate owners and executives, real-estate wealth (Korean context), professionals, and multi-generational families; senior and retirement wealth is a named strategic focus.

Who it serves

Affluent and ultra-high-net-worth clients in Korea: business owners and heirs, multi-generational families, clients with tax and inheritance-planning needs, and retirees (the Golden Life programme). KB describes GOLD&WISE through its centres in South Korea. An offshore mandate requires separate confirmation of the contracting entity and booking jurisdiction; the group’s overseas presence alone does not establish that service.

Services

Investment advisory and discretionary management run through the group's securities arm (see eam-external-asset-manager: in Korea, DPM legally sits with securities houses, not banks). Trusts are a genuine strength: KB Kookmin's trust-account average balance reached KRW 108.1tn at end-2025 (from KRW 97.5tn at end-2024); will-substitute trusts ("KB 위대한유산신탁"), gift and inheritance trusts, according to official data; a digital inheritance-design tool launched in Aug 2025. Advisory covers tax, real estate and legal matters; a group asset-strategy committee; a partnership with Lombard Odier for advisory know-how, according to published reports; pre-IPO/VC structured products with KB Securities. Family office: the F/O Solution Team fields tax CPAs, an attorney, and real-estate and investment specialists with on-site advisory; AUM ~KRW 1.1tn (Jan 2026, target KRW 2tn by end-2026), according to published reports. Scale: 24 bank PB centres; KB Securities WM assets KRW 74tn (end-2025), according to published reports; no single official bank-level "PB AUM" figure is disclosed.

Entities

Strengths

• Korea's largest financial group by profit; KB Kookmin Bank regained bank-level #1 by FY2025 net income (~KRW 3.86tn).
• Trust-market leader (KRW 108.1tn) with distinctive inheritance solutions.
• Full in-group "one-team" bank + broker + asset manager linkage.
• A mature brand ladder from mass-affluent to family office.

Where it falls short

• South Korea only: no offshore booking or international PB platform.
• Won-asset and resident focus limits value for non-residents.
• DPM unavailable at the bank by law — discretionary mandates only at KB Securities.
• ELS misselling overhang (FSC fines pending).

Bottom line: KB Private Banking is Korea's largest domestic private bank with the strongest trust and inheritance franchise; ideal for domestic wealthy clients, but no substitute for an international private bank.