Woori Bank has decided to shift the standard of its Wealth Management (WM) business from product 'sales volume' to 'customer satisfaction.' This move aims to establish a culture of complete sales in the wake of a large-scale loss incident involving Hong Kong H-Share Index (Hang Seng China Enterprises Index·HSCEI) based Equity-Linked Securities (ELS), which has severely damaged trust in the financial sector's WM services.
To this end, Woori Bank is building the first AI-based market prediction system in the banking sector and plans to respond to customer demands by establishing a 'Real Estate Research Lab' (tentative name) staffed with real estate experts, as well as forming an 'Asset Management Dream Team' composed of leading experts in various fields.
On the 7th, Woori Bank held a press conference at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, where it announced the 'Six Promises for Asset Management to Customers.' The six promises include ▲customer-centric portfolio sales ▲star-level asset management expert services ▲expansion of the exclusive Two Chairs W service for high-net-worth individuals ▲total customer care service ▲expansion of consulting and seminars based on total financial solutions ▲and establishment of a complete sales culture.
First, considering past private equity fund incidents and the recent ELS incident, Woori Bank has set the top priority principle of asset management sales as a 'customer-centric portfolio' rather than product sales. Specifically, it has developed an asset allocation strategy model linking customer investment tendencies?such as conservative, neutral, and aggressive?with product risk ratings, and provides customized portfolios combining deposits, bonds, funds, derivatives, and securities tailored to each customer.
To achieve this, Woori Bank has introduced the first AI-based market prediction system in the domestic banking sector and operates WISE, an internally developed investment product evaluation model. This year, the bank plans to focus its IT capabilities on improving the WISE model and expanding the evaluation scope to cover all investment products, thereby offering customers more choices. Additionally, considering customers' high interest in real estate, the bank has also established the Real Estate Research Lab.
Star-level asset management expert services will also be expanded. Through the Asset Management Dream Team, composed of 12 experts in real estate, investment strategy, financial planning, and taxation?including Ham Young-jin, head of the Real Estate Research Lab and former head of Zigbang Big Data Lab?Woori Bank plans to provide one-on-one customized consulting to customers and promote its WM capabilities through lectures, media contributions, and content.
The bank is also working to strengthen the capabilities of Private Bankers (PBs) in the sales field. Currently, Woori Bank employs a total of 641 PBs and is the only domestic bank where PBs holding sales licenses sell investment products exclusively at PB counters. To further enhance this, Woori Bank operates a 'Career Development Plan (CDP)' that selects and nurtures prospective PBs from their early days as new employees.
The exclusive WM service for high-net-worth individuals, 'Two Chairs W,' ambitiously prepared by President Cho Byung-kyu, will also be expanded. Starting with Two Chairs W Cheongdam and Daechi in July last year, the bank opened Two Chairs W Busan in January, marking its first branch outside the metropolitan area. Woori Bank plans to expand Two Chairs W to 20 locations in key areas such as Banpo and Gangbuk by 2026.
Total customer care services will continue. For the 'Anytime, Anywhere, Anything (3W)' care system, the bank has combined its sales field and headquarters to operate a special sales team called Woori Active Asset Management (WAW). Furthermore, asset management consulting will be expanded beyond economic outlook, financial planning, and real estate to include corporate management, overseas investment, and business succession.
Efforts to establish a complete sales culture will also continue. Under the motto 'warm heart, cool head,' executives and department heads of the Asset Management Group visit 33 sales headquarters nationwide to communicate about customer-oriented mindsets. In addition, a zero-tolerance policy will be applied, including revoking PB qualifications in cases of unethical sales practices.
Moreover, Woori Bank will introduce a process to reconfirm customers' subscription intentions up to three days after subscribing to complex financial products. After product subscription, the bank will send customers investment caution videos (short-form) to explain the product once again and confirm their subscription intentions, aiming to achieve complete sales.
Song Hyun-joo, Vice President of Woori Bank's Asset Management Group, stated, "As our asset management business vision suggests, customers must be able to trust and entrust their assets to the bank." He added, "We are determined to prove the simple truth that trust is the foundation for transactions and to leap forward as a specialized asset management bank."
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