[Exclusive] Nonghyup Bank Ramps Up Corporate Finance with Non-Face-to-Face Services and Small Business Consulting

Digital Corporate Finance Platform "The Quicker"
Scheduled for Launch in November
Non-Face-to-Face Corporate Accounts and Loan Products to Be Introduced
Supporting Technology Finance, Mid-Sized Companies, and Small Business Owners

NH Nonghyup Bank is implementing a variety of strategies to become a leader in corporate finance. The bank plans to shift corporate finance transactions, which have traditionally been conducted face-to-face, to non-face-to-face channels and strengthen its artificial intelligence (AI)-based services. In addition to expanding into new businesses such as loans for mid-sized companies, the bank is also pursuing win-win finance initiatives, including consulting services for small business owners.

According to the financial industry on July 1, Nonghyup Bank is currently carrying out a digital corporate finance project called "The Quicker." The bank is developing a non-face-to-face corporate finance transaction platform, which is scheduled to be launched on both internet banking and smart banking platforms in November this year. The goal of this project is to move away from the traditional method where companies had to visit branches with documents to receive loans or conduct financial transactions, and instead enable more convenient and faster corporate finance transactions without branch visits or paperwork. Initially, the bank plans to minimize transaction application documents through scraping (automatically extracting necessary information) and the issuance of public documents. By introducing a non-face-to-face corporate identity verification process and an electronic contract system, the bank aims to make the entire process from corporate finance application to execution fully non-face-to-face. It is known that Kang Taeyoung, CEO of Nonghyup Bank, is personally overseeing the "The Quicker" project. This is interpreted as part of his efforts to transform the bank into a "digital leading bank," as emphasized at the time of his inauguration, by promoting non-face-to-face and digitalization in the corporate finance sector, given his previous roles as Head of Digital Strategy and Head of Digital Transformation (DT).

In line with this, the bank is also actively developing non-face-to-face products. On June 25, the bank launched the NH Business e-Fixed Deposit, expanding its range of non-face-to-face corporate accounts. In the fourth quarter of this year, the bank plans to launch the NH The First Business Account, a parking account for corporate clients introduced last year, as a non-face-to-face product. This month, the bank will also introduce non-face-to-face channels (NH Allone Bank and Smart Banking) for real estate-backed loans (apartments and officetels) for individual business owners, which were previously only available at branch counters. The maximum loan limit is 500 million won.

The bank also plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to provide customized services for corporate clients. First, a government support program recommendation system will be completed in early July. This system will database government announcements and use AI to recommend suitable government support programs to corporate clients. In the fourth quarter of this year, the bank will also introduce an automated technology credit evaluation (TCB) report generation system based on generative AI. Technology finance is a type of corporate finance that supports technological innovation through assessments. By using AI for technology evaluation, the bank aims to automatically generate TCB reports, minimize errors, and improve the quality of its own TCB reports. A Nonghyup Bank official stated, "With the introduction of this system, we expect the productivity per evaluator to increase by approximately 1.5 times."

In addition, Nonghyup Bank is focusing on financial services for mid-sized companies, which are considered a niche market. Through an organizational restructuring this year, the bank established a Mid-Sized Corporate Finance Team within its Large Corporate Clients Department. The bank is aiming to surpass 1 trillion won in mid-sized corporate loans this year. A senior official at Nonghyup Bank stated, "We plan to help mid-sized companies grow together with Nonghyup Bank and provide consulting services such as IPOs by leveraging the strengths of Nonghyup Financial Group affiliates." In November this year, Nonghyup Bank will establish small business consulting centers at five regional headquarters (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, Busan, and Gwangju). As part of the small business financial support measures announced by the banking sector in December last year, these centers will provide consulting services for small business owners and prospective entrepreneurs.