Banks' Social Contribution Totaled 1.6 Trillion Won Last Year, Up 32% Year-on-Year

The total amount of social contribution activities by the banking sector last year increased by more than 30% compared to the previous year, reaching approximately 1.6 trillion KRW.

The Korea Federation of Banks announced on the 28th through the 2023 Banking Social Contribution Activity Report that the total amount of social contribution activities by the banking sector last year was 1.6349 trillion KRW. This represents an increase of 396.9 billion KRW (32.1%) compared to the previous year.

The scale of social contributions, which was 351.4 billion KRW when first recorded in 2006, has maintained an annual amount of over 1 trillion KRW since 2019, continuing its growth trend.

By sector, the achievements were 1.0121 trillion KRW in ‘local communities and public interest’ and 460.1 billion KRW in ‘financial services for low-income groups,’ accounting for a high proportion of the total amount. The Korea Federation of Banks explained, “This is the result of efforts by the banking sector to strengthen support for small business owners, self-employed individuals, and vulnerable groups who faced difficulties due to the three highs (high interest rates, high inflation, and high exchange rates) in 2023.”

Former Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung has been selected as the final candidate for the next chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks. The photo was taken on the 16th at the Korea Federation of Banks building in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

This report is composed of three main parts and includes enhanced content by institution to faithfully capture the banking sector’s social contribution efforts. It also covers qualitative activities such as ‘win-win finance and additional activities’ that are not reflected in the social contribution performance statistics, as well as information on public interest products and alternative branch operations.

Notably, this year’s report features a special page introducing the 2.1 trillion KRW livelihood finance support plan announced in December 2023 and the banking sector’s social responsibility project, which agreed to contribute a total of 580 billion KRW over four years starting in 2023 to strengthen support for vulnerable groups.

Cho Yong-byeong, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks, stated, “With the publication of this report, I hope the diverse contribution activities of the banking sector will be widely recognized throughout our society. Going forward, the banking sector promises to actively ‘act’ and ‘accompany’ together to lead inclusive finance practices that contribute to the virtuous cycle of the economic ecosystem.”