'Woori CUBE Data Loan' for SMEs to Launch Soon
Electronic System Developed to Verify Order Data
Loans Available with Delivery Contracts Even for Companies with Insufficient Credit Ratings
Woori Bank has developed a loan product for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the advanced industries sector. Even if a company lacks a sufficient credit rating, it can obtain a loan non-face-to-face if it has records of receiving orders from large corporations in advanced industries. This is part of the bank's strategy to expand corporate finance and support the ecosystem of advanced industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and defense.
According to the financial industry on May 19, Woori Bank will launch "Woori CUBE Data Loan," a specialized loan product for SME partners in advanced industries, at the end of this month.
The key feature of "Woori CUBE Data Loan" is that loans can be executed even before delivery, as long as order data is confirmed, regardless of the partner company's credit rating. This is possible because Woori Bank has recently developed an electronic system that verifies basic purchasing information such as orders and electronic contracts of partner companies through integration with corporate electronic procurement systems.
Since this electronic system is directly linked to order data rather than order contracts, it can filter out fraudulent contracts. Once Woori Bank verifies the order contract, it provides production funds as loans up to 50% of the order amount. When delivery is completed as scheduled, the payment is first used to repay Woori Bank, and the remaining funds are then transferred to the partner company.
This product is available only to SMEs in new growth sectors. "Woori CUBE Data Loan" was developed to improve liquidity in the supply chain ecosystem from production to delivery. The interest rate is relatively low, and the maturity is set based on the delivery deadline.
This aligns with the bank's strategy to strengthen corporate lending operations this year. The corporate group has set a policy to expand manufacturing business rather than leasing operations this year. As part of this, the bank plans to introduce not only customized loan products for large corporations and their partners but also investment products.
When banks want to expand SME lending, they typically utilize credit guarantee funds. This is because, instead of general collateral, they use credit guarantee certificates as collateral, which is advantageous in terms of risk-weighted assets (RWA) and repayment. However, since there is a limit to the funds that can be contributed to credit guarantee funds, corporate loans cannot be increased indefinitely.
Earlier this year, Woori Bank reorganized its structure to place both large corporate lending and SME lending departments within the same corporate group. With the development of SME-specialized loan products such as Woori CUBE Data Loan expected to be completed in the first half of the year, the bank anticipates that its business performance will become more prominent in the second half.
A senior official at Woori Bank stated, "Large corporations can raise funds in the capital market even without banks, but the situation is different for SMEs, which need support from banks. Since Woori Financial Group has decided to focus corporate lending on supporting advanced strategic industries, we will further expand loans to manufacturing companies in new growth sectors."
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