KB Kookmin Bank has completed development of a system that lets customers in retirement pension accounts sell exchange-traded funds and immediately use the proceeds to buy other securities on the same day, a first among South Korean banks. The bank is conducting internal testing and aims to apply the system to live trading as early as the end of this month. The move targets a competitive weakness in bank pension platforms, where ETF sale proceeds currently can only be reused on the next trading day, unlike securities firms that already offer real-time switching and have used that speed advantage to attract defined contribution retirement pension and individual retirement pension assets. As of the end of June, securities firms held 29.5% of the retirement pension market, up 3.3 percentage points this year, while banks' share fell 1.5 percentage points to 50.5% and insurers' share dropped 1.7 percentage points to 19.2%. Market shifts accelerated after the retirement pension in-kind transfer system took effect in October 2024. KB Kookmin Bank, whose retirement pension reserves stood at 53.38 trillion won, is ranked third in the industry behind Shinhan Bank and Samsung Life Insurance, with Hana Bank and Mirae Asset Securities close behind. Industry observers expect the rollout to spur rival banks to introduce similar capabilities as real-time ETF trading becomes more important in a fast-growing retirement market shaped by South Korea's aging population and stronger demand for ETF-based pension management.