Lee Bok-hyun, Heading to Busan: "Voluntary Participation of Banks Crucial for Supporting SMEs and Small Business Owners"

On the 8th, Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, emphasized that "voluntary participation efforts by the banking sector are urgently needed to alleviate the pain of small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners."

On the same day, Lee visited the Busan Bank headquarters in the morning and said, "Although the financial authorities, in cooperation with private financial companies and public institutions, have prepared and implemented support measures such as the New Start Fund and extensions and repayment deferrals in the financial sector, there are practical limitations to government-led support measures alone."

Lee also visited the 'D-camp Busan Lounge' located at Busan Station to encourage young startup entrepreneurs in the region, and then attended a meeting held at the Busan Bank headquarters with An Gam-chan, President of Busan Bank, Choi Hong-young, President of Gyeongnam Bank, and others for the 'Warm Partnership between Local Communities and Regional Banks.'

Amid financial authorities' announcement of measures to curb monopolies by commercial banks, Lee's visit to encourage regional banks draws attention. Measures to promote competition in the banking sector include internet-only banks, additional licensing of commercial banks, and the conversion of regional banks into commercial banks.

Lee stated, "It is time for warm finance where regional banks based on the local economy create a virtuous cycle through partnership with local communities." He also highly praised Busan Bank's voluntary efforts such as lowering household loan interest rates and reducing interest rates on existing loans for low-credit borrowers, while urging interest in co-growth with local communities.

Furthermore, he added, "If Busan Bank's initiatives spread throughout the entire banking and financial sectors, public perception of the banking and financial industries will greatly improve," and said, "The Financial Supervisory Service will also consider various ways to actively support the warm partnership between local communities and regional banks."