NH Investment & Securities Decides to Pay 100% Principal on German Heritage DLS to Protect Investors

Decision to Pay Full Principal to General Investors

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] NH Investment & Securities announced on the 27th that it has decided to fully refund the principal to general investor customers who invested in the German Heritage product in order to respect the basic intent of the Dispute Mediation Committee's decision and to implement a high level of customer protection measures.

On the 21st of last month, the Financial Supervisory Service Dispute Mediation Committee recommended that the seller return the full principal to general investors for the German Heritage product on the grounds of "contract cancellation due to mistake."

Accordingly, NH Investment & Securities decided to pay the full principal to general investors through in-depth discussions by the Internal Control Committee for Financial Consumer Protection. The number of customers eligible to receive the principal is 81 general investors, with a total payment amount of 12.6 billion KRW.

The company decided to adopt a private agreement method to acquire beneficiary certificates and related rights from customers, rather than the "contract cancellation due to mistake" recommended by the Dispute Mediation Committee. Although there are legal disagreements and it is not the "contract cancellation" recommended by the committee, it produces essentially the same effect for customers, and it is the best decision the company can make from the perspective of customer protection.

Jung Young-chae, CEO of NH Investment & Securities, stated, "We decided to pay the full principal to maintain a customer-centric management philosophy and restore customer trust," adding, "We will secure a foundation for sustainable growth based on the restoration of customer trust."

Meanwhile, since last year, NH Investment & Securities has established and operated an Internal Control Committee for Financial Consumer Protection chaired by the CEO to decide on financial consumer protection and prompt damage relief, mandating the participation of legal experts as external members.

NH Investment & Securities plans to continuously carry out substantial financial consumer protection activities by further improving and establishing an efficient management system for proactive financial consumer protection, including the approval and operation procedures of financial products.