Korea Development Bank — Ratings Affirmed with a Stable Outlook

14 November 2025

Capital Intelligence (CI Ratings or CI) today announced that it has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign Currency Rating (LT FCR) and Short-Term Foreign Currency Rating (ST FCR) of Korea Development Bank (KDB or the Bank) at ‘A+’ and ‘A1’, respectively. At the same time, CI Ratings has affirmed KDB’s Bank Standalone Rating (BSR) of ‘a+’, Core Financial Strength (CFS) rating of ‘a+’ and Extraordinary Support Level (ESL) of Very High. The Outlook for the LT FCR and BSR is Stable.

As KDB is a government and policy bank, its ratings (LT FCR, BSR and CFS) are equalised and in line with CI’s internal assessment of sovereign credit risk for South Korea. Consequently, the ESL of Very High — reflecting its full government ownership, policy role and solvency protection as mandated under the Korea Development Bank Act (KDB Act) — does not result in any uplift to the Bank’s LT FCR. Under the KDB Act, the Bank’s mandate and role include supporting…