Woori Card Overseas ABS Issuance of 271 Billion KRW... Utilized for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Microbusinesses

Exclusive Investment by Japan MUFG Bank
Risk Management through Currency Interest Rate Swaps

Woori Card has issued $200 million (approximately 271 billion KRW) worth of overseas asset-backed securities (ABS). The funds raised will be used for win-win finance initiatives, such as advancing the payment timing of card settlement funds to small and medium-sized merchants.

Woori Card, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, announced on the 25th that it had issued such overseas ABS. The issuance was solely invested by Japan's MUFG Bank, with credit card sales receivables as the underlying assets. The average maturity is two years. To eliminate risks from exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations, a currency interest rate swap was concluded with MUFG Bank's Seoul branch.

Since this ABS was issued as a social bond, the raised funds will be used for early settlement of card payment amounts to small and medium-sized merchants. Earlier this year, Woori Card issued a total of 1.5 trillion KRW worth of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) bonds.

A Woori Card official stated, "Through this issuance, we were able to reduce funding costs and ease the burden of issuing card bonds," adding, "We will continue to strengthen financial stability by diversifying our funding portfolio."

At the overseas asset-backed securities issuance signing ceremony held in Tokyo, Japan on the 24th, Lee Jae-il, Head of Business Planning at Woori Card (left), and Jung Tae-moon, Head of Securitization for the Asia-Pacific region at MUFG Bank, are taking a commemorative photo. (Photo by Woori Card)

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