Aussie financial services group acquires Korea’s Evergreen Savings Bank

Will focus on consumer and small business lending.

Pepper Group said it has completed the acquisition of Evergreen Mutual Savings Bank Co, Ltd. The Korean bank will be renamed Pepper Savings Bank.

It has total assets of US$175.9 million; two retail branches and 30,000 active customers

This acquisition is Pepper's first foray into the Asian financial services market. Evergreen Savings Bank is the first mutual savings bank in South Korea to be acquired by an Australian institution.

Pepper Group Co-CEO, Patrick Tuttle, said the group has been closely monitoring the mutual savings bank sector in South Korea for more than two years, looking for the right opportunity to invest in an established platform with a sound customer base and balance sheet.

“After completing detailed financial and legal due diligence on Evergreen Savings Bank, we believe we are acquiring a solid platform from which to launch a more traditional retail banking strategy in South Korea, with a view to taking the bank back to more grass roots consumer and small business lending, backed by a competitive retail deposit book,” Tuttle said.