Individual Business Owners' High-Interest Loans Reduced by 1%p... Hana Bank Launches Financial Support Program

Interest Rates on Microfinance Products Also Reduced... Various Support Measures Implemented

Park Sung-ho, Bank President (left), is directly consulting with a small business customer at Hana Bank Eulji Financial Center branch in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 4th. (Provided by Hana Bank)

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Hana Bank will reduce the interest rate on high-interest loans for individual business owners exceeding 7% per annum by up to 1 percentage point (p) when extending the loan term. In addition, it will operate financial support programs such as lowering interest rates on financial products for low-income earners.

Hana Bank announced on the 5th that it will implement the 'HANA Financial Support Program' to assist financially vulnerable groups and provide up to 1%p interest rate support on high-interest individual business loans and low-income financial support loans starting from the 11th.

Accordingly, individual business customers using high-interest loans exceeding 7% per annum will receive up to a 1%p reduction on the interest rate exceeding 7% at the time of loan maturity extension. For example, if the loan interest rate for an individual business customer is calculated at 8% per annum at the time of extension, it will be applied at 7% per annum after a 1%p reduction.

Additionally, new applicants for the low-income financial product 'Saeheemang Holssi Loan' will receive up to a 1%p interest rate reduction. This aims to protect vulnerable borrowers whose financial costs have increased due to rising base interest rates and to reduce repayment burdens, thereby promoting a soft landing.

Various financial support programs will also be implemented. Dedicated 'Financial Support Consultation Desks' for financially vulnerable groups will be established at major branch locations to provide tailored consultations for borrowers with reduced repayment capacity, including ▲repayment deferral ▲repayment method changes ▲guidance on additional interest rate benefits. The 'Financial Support Consultation Desks' will be expanded nationwide within this month. Alongside this, a 'Vulnerable Borrower Support Consultation Manual' summarizing the financial support programs will be distributed to all branches nationwide.

Meanwhile, on the 4th, Park Seong-ho, CEO of Hana Bank, visited the Euljiro Financial Center branch in Jung-gu, Seoul, in line with the implementation of this interest rate reduction program. After directly consulting with customers, he pledged to promptly support new management funds and interest rate reductions.

CEO Park said, "We will prepare detailed support measures to provide practical help not only to small business owners using high-interest loans but also to financially vulnerable customers," and added, "I hope all Hana Bank employees sincerely unite their efforts so that financially vulnerable groups can overcome the waves of the high-interest era following COVID-19."

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