Commercial Banks Partner with Universities... Vital Effort to Nurture Digital Talent (Comprehensive)

Woori, Hana, and NH Nonghyup Bank Operate Digital Talent Development Program
Also Actively Recruiting External Experts

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-ho Kim] "Even if banks disappear, banking (platforms) will survive." Amid the intensifying challenges from fintech (finance + technology) and big tech (large information and communication companies), commercial banks are deepening their concerns for survival. This is because they are struggling to secure top talent to maintain market dominance amid accelerated digital innovation. Banks' efforts to nurture excellent talent are leading to collaborations with major universities. Since there are limits to recruiting external talent alone, this reflects a strong determination to directly cultivate internal talent.

According to the financial sector on the 9th, Woori Bank will provide a "Future Digital Finance Expert Training Program" to all new employees in the digital and IT departments in the first half of this year.

They plan to develop core competencies needed in the digital finance market such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and big data analysis through the digital finance MBA programs at major domestic universities like KAIST for the double-digit number of new employees, and assign them to frontline digital and IT-related departments. A Woori Bank official explained, "Through investment in nurturing talent in the digital and IT sectors, we will cultivate them as key personnel to lead Woori Bank's digital finance."

Hana Bank has also joined hands with universities to nurture future digital talent. Recently, it signed a business agreement with KAIST and developed the "Digital Warrior Program." The core of this program is teaching computer science major courses to 40 selected young employees in their 20s and 30s.

NH Nonghyup Bank has signed digital education course agreements with major domestic universities such as Seoul National University, Kookmin University, and Nonghyup University. In the case of Seoul National University, they offer a big data analysis course, while Kookmin University and Nonghyup University provide AI application courses and digital MBA courses, respectively. Additionally, they operate advanced degree programs related to digital education with Yonsei University, Sogang University, Korea University, and KAIST.

The banks' efforts to secure digital talent are also evident in their recruitment processes. Kookmin Bank announced yesterday that it will hire about 200 new and experienced employees in IT, data, and business management through the "2021 First Half Open Recruitment." Major banks such as Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank are also continuing "pinpoint" recruitment to select digital talent.

Securing excellent digital talent is a matter of survival for banks as the speed of digital transformation accelerates. It is considered an essential requirement for banks to have competitive platforms amid challenges from big tech and fintech companies like Naver and Kakao. The banking sector, which has deep roots in pure-bloodism, has already devoted efforts over the past few years to recruiting digital and IT specialists.

For example, Kookmin Bank recruited Yoon Jin-su, former head of Samsung Electronics' Big Data Center, as vice president of the Tech Group in 2019. In April, they appointed Park Ki-eun, former CTO of Naver Cloud, as head of the Tech Technology Division within the Tech Group. Many data strategy and ICT heads at Woori Financial Group, Shinhan Bank, and Hana Bank also come from IT companies and academia.

A banking industry official said, "The efforts to nurture digital talent in banks are being carried out with a long-term perspective," adding, "One reason is that it is not easy to recruit because high-level digital talent tends to gravitate toward major IT companies like Google and Facebook."

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