IBK, SME Interest Burden Relief Program Operation

Reducing Interest Burden on SMEs Based on Banks' Profit Capacity Amid Rising Interest Rates

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] IBK Industrial Bank of Korea announced on the 22nd that it has been operating a program to reduce interest rate burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) worth approximately 800 billion KRW over three years starting this year.

This support aims to assist SMEs facing difficulties due to rising loan interest rates by utilizing the increased profits of the bank resulting from low-cost deposits during a period of rising interest rates.

Additionally, IBK has been providing low-interest loans worth about 5.8 trillion KRW since May to promising growth SMEs and companies affected by the triple hardships of high interest rates, high exchange rates, and high inflation, in response to the increasing financial cost burden on SMEs.

Furthermore, since November, IBK has improved and applied a new loan interest rate calculation system. For loan accounts where interest rates have increased compared to before due to the revised system, the bank is implementing a soft landing plan by bearing the increased interest portion itself to alleviate the rise in customers' financial costs.

Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK, stated, "Supporting SMEs to endure difficult times is IBK's fundamental responsibility, and this will not hinder achieving IBK's management goals for this year. Going forward, we will continue to establish a seamless financial support system for SMEs and fulfill our role as a reliable pillar for them."

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