Top Financial Institutions Recognized for Regional Reinvestment
Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, and Nonghyup Bank Receive "Excellent" Ratings
Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, and Nonghyup Bank have been selected as the financial institutions with the strongest capabilities in regional reinvestment.
On August 27, the Financial Services Commission announced that it had held the Regional Reinvestment Evaluation Committee and finalized the results of the 2025 evaluation of financial institutions' regional reinvestment efforts.
The regional reinvestment evaluation system assesses financial institutions based on their provision of funds within the region, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, support for loans to low-income individuals, financial infrastructure status, and their contribution to the local economy, among other regional financial support strategies. The results are divided into five grades, and incentives are provided accordingly.
Among commercial banks, five institutions-Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Nonghyup Bank, IM Bank, and Industrial Bank of Korea-received the highest grade of "Excellent."
Among regional banks, Busan Bank, Gwangju Bank, Jeonbuk Bank, and Kyongnam Bank received the "Excellent" grade, while among mutual savings banks, Korea Investment Savings Bank achieved the top grade.
According to the Financial Services Commission, the loan growth rate in all evaluated regions last year was 4.7%, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous year. The loan-to-deposit ratio in the evaluated regions was 124.1%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous year.
During the same period, the proportion of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises out of total corporate loans in the evaluated regions was 95.3%, higher than that of the Seoul metropolitan area (83.1%). The growth rate of SME loans was 3.3%, a slight decrease from 4.3% the previous year. The proportion of loans to low-income individuals out of total household loans was 1.95%, up 1.39 percentage points from the previous year. The number of bank branches per one million people was 102.5, which is lower than the metropolitan area (115.0).
An official from the Financial Services Commission emphasized, "We will continue to consult with relevant institutions to further enhance the utilization of the regional reinvestment evaluation, and we plan to continuously review and improve the system to ensure its validity in response to changes in the financial environment."
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