Scale of Win-Win Finance, 'Up to 2 Trillion' Windfall Tax Considered... "Financial Firms Also Aware"

Kim Ju-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said on the 20th regarding the scale of win-win finance in the financial sector, "(Looking at the amounts mentioned during the legislative process of the windfall tax proposed by the opposition) financial companies are also aware that the National Assembly expects at least this much."

Chairman Kim made these remarks after meeting with reporters following a meeting of the chairpersons of the eight major bank holding companies held at the Bankers' Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon. Regarding the scale of win-win finance, he said, "There was no discussion about a specific amount."

Kim Ju-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, are attending the 'Financial Holding Company Chairmen Meeting' held on the 20th at the Korea Federation of Banks building in Jung-gu, Seoul, exchanging opinions. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Recently, a bill related to the windfall tax proposed by Kim Sung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, defines excess profit as the net interest income exceeding 120% of the average interest income of the past five years for banks, and proposes to collect up to 40% of this excess profit as a contribution. If the bill passes, the contribution banks would have to pay this year would amount to about 2 trillion won.

Chairman Kim said, "The chairpersons of the financial holding companies also said that the scale of win-win finance must be at a level acceptable to the public," adding, "Considering the windfall tax bill, I believe the National Assembly will take into account the level that the public demands."

Regarding concerns that demands for win-win finance could lead to an expansion of private debt, he said, "I do not think lowering the interest burden on small business owners and self-employed individuals will significantly worsen the situation," and added, "On the contrary, it could have the effect of improving the soundness of financial companies."

However, Chairman Kim was cautious about imposing the windfall tax. He said, "Although there are forecasts that interest rates will not rise further as inflation is controlled, finance has uncertain aspects like the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) incident," and added, "Policies should be implemented flexibly and precisely, and I believe it is better to have discussions between the industry and authorities rather than going through legislation."

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