'100 Days in Office' Yoon Jong-won, CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea, "Increasing SME Loan Target by 10 Trillion This Year"

Yoon Jong-won, the new president of IBK Industrial Bank, is delivering his inaugural speech at the inauguration ceremony held on the 29th at the IBK headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] IBK Industrial Bank of Korea has decided to increase its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan target by 10 trillion won this year. This is to support SMEs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank plans to ease sales performance targets for its employees.

Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK, announced this management plan on the 12th during a written press conference marking his 100th day in office.

Recently, as SMEs and small business owners have faced significant difficulties due to the COVID-19 crisis, the role of IBK as a policy bank has become increasingly important.

President Yoon stated, “While supporting companies experiencing temporary financial difficulties, IBK’s key role is to help businesses overcome current challenges and improve their structure through effective credit screening.”

To meet these expectations, he said the SME loan target for this year will be increased from the existing 49 trillion won to 59 trillion won.

He explained that if the SME foundation collapses, the financial system will suffer a major shock, so government and global economic stimulus measures are ultimately being implemented to protect the financial system.

Yoon Jong-won, the new president of IBK Industrial Bank, is delivering his inaugural speech at the inauguration ceremony held on the 29th at the IBK headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

President Yoon acknowledged, “There is a possibility that asset soundness may deteriorate due to support for SMEs and small business owners,” but added, “The ultra-low interest loans for small business owners are 100% guaranteed by the government against credit risk, so the impact on the bank’s soundness is limited.”

He anticipated that, similar to past cases during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis and the global financial crisis where supported SMEs later became IBK customers and a foundation for growth, this support will positively influence the bank’s growth through newly acquired customers and loan assets.

Regarding the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) used to measure employee performance, President Yoon said, “We will gather employee opinions and consult with the labor union to develop improvement measures.”

IBK lowered the target values of 13 KPIs by 15% in the first half of the year to focus its capabilities on supporting small business owners amid difficulties in face-to-face sales due to COVID-19. President Yoon’s recent remarks are interpreted as indicating that further KPI adjustments may be made.

President Yoon also disclosed the recruitment plan for the first half of the year. The bank plans to hire 250 regular employees, 30 more than last year, and recruit 300 youth interns. Job announcements will be made next week.

In the following month, a separate recruitment exclusively for people with disabilities will be conducted to hire 30 individuals, and in the second half of the year, recruitment targeting graduates of specialized high schools is planned.

Regarding the recent appointment of an external expert as CEO of IBK Investment & Securities through an open recruitment process last month, President Yoon said, “We judged that having a CEO with high expertise in securities operations is essential for the company’s development.”

Additionally, President Yoon addressed the suspension of redemptions for the Lime Fund and Discovery Asset Management funds, stating, “We have formed an ‘Investment Products Bank-wide Task Force (TF)’ led by an executive director to explore various measures such as information provision and legal review, and we will do our best to resolve the issues from the customers’ perspective.”

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