Gwangju Bank's 'Prime Plus Loan' Surpasses 200 Billion KRW in Just Over 4 Months Since Launch

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Bank (President Song Jong-wook) announced on the 25th that its non-face-to-face exclusive mid-interest rate credit loan "Prime Plus Loan," launched to embrace medium- and low-credit customers, surpassed 200 billion KRW in sales just over four months after its launch in January.

"Prime Plus Loan" is a mid-interest rate loan product designed to include medium- and low-credit customers who could not overcome the high loan thresholds of the banking sector.

Launched as a non-face-to-face exclusive credit loan in line with the digital financial market, this product actively introduced a new evaluation model through the use of various data items and machine learning techniques with secured risk discrimination capabilities, thereby strengthening risk management.

Based on the ESG management philosophy that pursues public interest and the value of coexistence, Song Jong-wook, president of Gwangju Bank, who focuses on inclusive finance and productive finance, carefully examined every step from the product development stage of "Prime Plus Loan" to ensure that the practice of inclusive finance and the leadership in digital finance were well reflected in the product.

In fact, "Prime Plus Loan" has received favorable reviews for accurately identifying the financial needs of medium- and low-credit customers who need timely financial support due to the prolonged COVID-19 situation but cannot overcome the banking sector's thresholds and have to resort to high interest rates from secondary financial institutions or illegal private loans. It provides timely financial support by calculating appropriate limits and interest rates within manageable risk levels.

Also, due to the convenience of being able to apply anytime via mobile (Smart Banking, Mobile Web Banking) for salaried workers, it attracted much attention from the early stages of its launch and achieved the remarkable feat of surpassing 200 billion KRW in sales in just over four months.

Looking at mid-interest rate loan products from other banks, a significant portion of sales is targeted at prime customers, whereas Gwangju Bank's "Prime Plus Loan" has about 70% of customers with credit scores below 830 (equivalent to grade 4 under the previous credit rating system), accurately hitting the purpose and intent of mid-interest rate loans.

The average interest rate of "Prime Plus Loan" handled so far is in the high 6% range, showing superiority compared to the average interest rates of secondary financial institution loans. It has attracted strong interest from financial consumers on loan comparison platforms and is leading the mid-interest rate loan market in the primary financial sector.

Song Jong-wook, president of Gwangju Bank, said, "In the difficult economic conditions caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we focused on developing the 'Prime Plus Loan' product to provide timely and necessary financial solutions to customers in urgent need of financial support. By thoroughly understanding the repayment ability of financially marginalized groups through detailed market analysis and the latest evaluation techniques, we differentiated this product from existing ones and expect it to become a new model for mid-interest rate products in the primary financial sector."

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