Activation of Field Support for COVID-19 in the Financial Sector... Eun Seong-su Visits Commercial Bank Branches (Comprehensive)

1-3 Days: Financial Services Commission, FSC, Policy Financial Institutions, and Association Executives Visit Commercial Bank Branches
Chairman Eun Reiterates Immunity from COVID-19 Related Tasks and Exclusion from FSC Inspections
Inquires About Bank Employees' Overtime Due to Work Overload and Checks Headquarters' Response Status

Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo provided on-site support on the 1st at commercial bank branches (IBK Namdaemun Market Branch, Woori Bank Namdaemun Market Branch, NongHyup Bank Dongdaemun Branch) to ensure the smooth implementation of COVID-19 related financial support measures. Chairman Eun is listening to an explanation from a bank official at Woori Bank Namdaemun Market Branch in Jung-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, visited the Credit Guarantee Fund Securitization Guarantee Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and branches of commercial banks located in areas densely populated by small business owners on the 1st to check the status of financial support for small business owners affected by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

This is part of the on-site support system operation to ensure that financial authorities, policy financial institutions, and various financial sector associations can smoothly implement COVID-19-related financial support measures.

Accordingly, from the 1st to the 3rd, Chairman Eun, along with senior officials from the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Seok-heon and other FSS executives, heads of policy financial institutions, association presidents, and executives plan to visit policy financial institutions and commercial bank branches.

They will check whether support programs such as the annual 1.5% ultra-low interest rate loans for small business owners, which start on this day, are functioning properly on-site and prepare improvement measures if necessary. They will also identify the preparation and execution status of frontline bank branches that actually supply funds and any difficulties encountered during the process.

They will thoroughly prepare by collecting on-site opinions to ensure there are no disruptions in the implementation of financial stability measures such as the Bond Market Stabilization Fund, Securities Market Stabilization Fund, P-CBO, and support for corporate bond and CP refinancing issuance.

To avoid burdening bank branches with on-site financial sector support, the visits will be conducted with minimal personnel (two-person teams) following COVID-19 prevention guidelines, and bank branches will not be required to make separate prior preparations.

On the morning of the same day, Chairman Eun visited the Credit Guarantee Fund Securitization Guarantee Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Shinhan Bank Seosomun Branch, Woori Bank Namdaemun Branch, Industrial Bank of Korea Namdaemun Branch, NongHyup Dongdaemun Branch, Industrial Bank of Korea Sinchon Branch, and Credit Guarantee Fund Seodaemun Branch in sequence to review the status of financial support for small business owners affected by COVID-19.

During the morning, the counters at each bank appeared relatively calm. A bank official explained that since non-face-to-face applications are possible and prior guidance was provided, and because small business owners usually open their shops late in the morning and come in the afternoon, there were not many customers. However, inquiries about interest rate subsidies on commercial bank loans, loan maturity extensions, and interest payment deferrals have been received frequently since early morning.

Chairman Eun asked bank customers whether it was their first visit, if they had to wait in line, whether they had any difficulties preparing documents, and if they were aware that ultra-low interest rate loans would be available at banks starting April 1. He also explained that small business owners with relatively high credit ratings could obtain loans from banks instead of the Small Enterprise and Market Service.

Chairman Eun brought official letters from the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service and handed them to bank employees, reiterating exemption from liability and exclusion from FSS inspections for COVID-19-related work. He also inquired about overtime work among bank employees due to workload and checked the headquarters’ response status.

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