Gwangju Bank Provides Emergency Special Funds to Companies Affected by Novel Coronavirus

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Bank (President Song Jong-wook) announced on the 3rd that it will implement special support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises and individual business owners engaged in travel, lodging, and food services, which are expected to be affected amid growing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus infection, known as 'Wuhan Pneumonia,' in the local community.

Through this special support, Gwangju Bank plans to inject emergency management stabilization funds totaling 100 billion KRW (50 billion KRW in new support and 50 billion KRW in maturity extensions), with a limit of 500 million KRW per affected SME, and apply a special interest rate discount of up to 1.3 percentage points (p).

Additionally, for affected customers holding loans with upcoming maturities, the bank will extend the loan terms without separate principal repayment by applying a 1%p reduction in loan interest rates and will also implement installment payment deferrals.

Gwangju Bank operates a comprehensive support consultation team to promptly receive and handle financial difficulties of affected companies, dispatches staff directly to affected sites to conduct on-site inspections and consulting, and seeks practical support measures to do its utmost for the business stability of these companies.

Song Jong-wook, President of Gwangju Bank, stated, “As the spread of the novel coronavirus increases anxiety in the local community and deepens the economic downturn, we will do our best to establish practical financial support measures for local businesses to minimize damage. As the representative bank of Gwangju and Jeonnam, we will take a leading role in stabilizing the management of affected companies and overcome the region’s difficulties together.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.