WeLab Bank swings to loss as HK$20m tech bet bites in H1

Its revenue and net interest income grew about 8% each during the period.

WeLab Bank reported a loss of $684,403 (HK$5.37m) in the first six months of 2026, reversing an HK$4.34m net profit during the same period a year ago.

The Hong Kong-based digital bank blamed the loss on approximately HK$20m investments in technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and product innovation, its interim results showed. Without this, WeLab Bank said it would have made a profit of $1.86m (HK$14.6m).

Revenue rose 8% year-on-year (YoY) to $63m (HK$492m) in H1 2026, and net interest income grew 8.4% YoY to $60m (HK$466m).

Net interest margin is 10.2%.

Its retail loan portfolio exceeded $782m (HK$6.1m), an 11% YoY growth.

WeLab Bank’s health management and multi-currency services continued to expand, with the GoWealth assets under management nearly doubling year-on-year, the bank said.

Multi-currency deposits reportedly surged 87% since the end of 2025, whilst the number of active foreign exchange customers increased by 43% over the same period.

Overseas spending using the WeLab Global Wallet Debit Card rose 42% compared to the end of H2 2025.

(US$1 = HK$7.85; as of 1 October 2026)