Gwangju Bank Holds New Year's Kickoff Ceremony: "Practicing Coexistence with the Community"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Gwangju Bank (President Song Jong-wook) announced on the 3rd that it held a kick-off ceremony to reaffirm the new determination of its executives and employees through face-to-face and video meetings to welcome the New Year 2022.

Despite the difficult management environment last year due to the economic recession caused by COVID-19, the base interest rate hike, the full enforcement of the Financial Consumer Protection Act, and the total household debt limit, Gwangju Bank achieved a record high net profit of 163.3 billion KRW by the third quarter of 2021, while maintaining the highest level of asset soundness in the banking sector in terms of non-performing loan ratio and delinquency ratio.

In addition, it won first place in local bank brand power for four consecutive years and received the highest grade in regional reinvestment evaluation. It was also selected as the Gwangju Metropolitan City treasury and the treasury for five autonomous districts, achieving remarkable and significant management results, further solidifying its status as the representative bank of Gwangju and Jeonnam.

The executives and employees of Gwangju Bank shared their plans for the New Year 2022 and pledged to grow into a sustainable 100-year bank through substantial qualitative growth and structural improvement, despite the prolonged economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the intensified competitive environment due to the entry of fintech and big tech companies into the financial industry.

This year’s slogan of Gwangju Bank is ‘Start First, Move Fast 2022,’ which reflects the spirit of ‘Gihojisese (騎虎之勢)’?to start boldly and execute quickly in response to the rapidly changing financial environment.

Furthermore, to leap forward as a leading bank, all executives and employees united to maximize their capabilities and proposed the ‘ABC Mindset’ as three key attitudes to pursue.

This policy, aimed at reaffirming new determination and adjusting mindset for the New Year 2022, includes ▲ Active Mind for innovation leadership and proactive digital culture ▲ Business Mind for profit enhancement and substantial growth sales culture ▲ Communication Mind for building a corporate culture of regional coexistence and customer communication.

President Song announced the management policy to realize the vision of a 100-year bank by confronting the fierce competitive environment such as the COVID-19 economic recession and digital financial industry, focusing on ▲ practicing inclusive finance centered on local SMEs and middle-class citizens ▲ upskilling internal capabilities centered on digital and IT ▲ promoting profit-centered substantial growth through expansion of core businesses.

Additionally, he presented four major tasks: ▲ expanding differentiated future growth engines to respond to the post-COVID-19 era ▲ strengthening profit-centered sound management by expanding core businesses focused on strategic loans and IB assets and base businesses centered on local SME loans ▲ reinforcing the foundation for long-term growth through customer base expansion ▲ managing the highest level of soundness in the financial sector.

President Song said, “2021 was a longer year than usual due to the impact of COVID-19, and it was a year in which all executives and employees struggled together to overcome the crisis faced by the region and achieve regional co-prosperity,” adding, “In 2022, we will boldly implement change and innovation to confront the accelerating COVID-19 crisis and fierce competition in the digital financial industry, and do our best to achieve excellent management performance based on customer value and social responsibility.”.

He continued, “With the sense of mission as the representative bank of Gwangju and Jeonnam, let us realize the value of ‘coexistence with the region and companionship with local residents’ and become the most beloved 100-year bank by the local people.”

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