KB Kookmin Bank Selected as an Excellent Company in the '2023 Korea Consumer Protection Index'

KB Kookmin Bank has been selected as an outstanding company in the '2023 Korea Consumer Protection Index (KCPI)' survey conducted by Korea Management Association Consulting (KMAC).

Under the motto of being 'the most trusted bank by customers,' KB Kookmin Bank is strengthening its internal control system and striving to establish customer-centric management that prioritizes consumer protection.

Recently, as the financial environment is rapidly changing due to digital transformation and other factors, consumer protection has emerged as an increasingly important variable. Accordingly, KB Kookmin Bank has designated customer protection as its top priority and is working to alleviate financial transaction inconveniences for vulnerable groups.

KB Kookmin Bank is building a consumer-centered financial environment to improve financial accessibility and resolve transaction inconveniences for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled, and has introduced and operates various systems to ensure no difficulties in using financial services.

In a financial environment increasingly based on non-face-to-face interactions, KB Kookmin Bank operates the ‘KB Senior Lounge’ using large vans to minimize financial transaction inconveniences for elderly customers who are relatively marginalized.

The KB Senior Lounge operates from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in parking lots within welfare centers, staffed with dedicated employees who provide financial services frequently used by elderly customers such as simple deposits and withdrawals, pension receipt, passbook reissuance, and reporting of lost cards. It also conducts financial education for the elderly, including voice phishing prevention.

The ‘Consumer Protection Group’ acts as a control tower for customer protection, establishing policy directions and basic plans related to financial consumer protection, and has set up an interdepartmental cooperation system to promptly respond to complaints and institution-wide system improvements.

Under the leadership of the Chief Consumer Officer (CCO), KB Kookmin Bank operates the ‘Financial Consumer Protection Internal Control Committee’ to strengthen internal controls on consumer protection across the entire bank. It has enhanced quarterly regular inspections and thematic audits of headquarters departments and branches, introduced management procedures for inspection results to increase effectiveness, and is improving its internal control policies independently.

KB Kookmin Bank has implemented an internal control system for financial consumer protection throughout the entire process of financial product sales, including product selection, sales, and post-management, to prevent potential consumer rights violations and complaints in advance. In particular, to actively strengthen the protection of financial consumer rights, it has established evaluation criteria to prevent incomplete sales and set up a thorough post-management process that requires not only counseling staff but also branch managers to inspect cases of incomplete sales, making efforts to ensure complete sales.

To address regional branch imbalance issues, since May last year, KB Kookmin Bank has sequentially established ‘interbank joint branches’ in three locations: Yeongju in Gyeongbuk, Buk-gu in Busan, and Seo-gu in Daejeon, in cooperation with Shinhan Bank, BNK Busan Bank, and Citibank Korea. Additionally, through partnerships with E-Mart No Brand and E-Mart24 convenience stores, it has opened two unmanned digital branches and operates intelligent automated machines and video consultation exclusive counters to enhance customers’ financial accessibility and convenience.

Lee Jae-geun, President of KB Kookmin Bank, stated, “Based on our mission of ‘Finance that Changes the World,’ we will fulfill the public nature and social responsibility of financial institutions, build an inclusive consumer-centered financial environment, and protect financial consumer rights further by providing trustworthy products and services.”