KB Kookmin Bank, a leading bank in Korea, has recently won the 2012 Korea Management Grand Award in the area of customer satisfaction.

The management of the bank has had close contact and communication with those at the frontline of banking activities, creating such a strong bond between management and staff that the bank came out on top in both the National Customer Satisfaction Index and the Korea Customer Satisfaction Index for six years in a row.

The bank has been able to maintain its lead in the much-talked about retirement fund market as a future growth engine for the financial industry in Korea. KB Star Banking, based on smartphone banking, has grown hugely with its more than 4 million customers boosting the bank to the leader in the market.

Euromoney, a monthly financial and trading magazine published in Britain, named the bank as the 2012 Most Excellent Trade Financial Bank in Korea for two years in a row and Global Finance selected the bank in 2012 as the Best Trade Financing Bank in Korea.

President Min Myung-deok in his speech at the bank’s 10-year anniversary, said he would like to give thanks to the customers who provide love and encouragement to the bank. He added that the bank will ceaselessly endeavor to be a respected bank even 100 years into its operations, keeping the top position in Korea’s banking industry. 

Min declared, “Reform Management, Deep Change Management,” to reform a wide area of the bank’s operations in terms of practices, systems, and awareness to keep the bank’s profit earnings stable amid tough management conditions by overcoming the crisis situation. 

In the meantime, President Min said his management plan this year is to manage risks in light of the worldwide spread of the European debt crisis this year and to be cautious amidst the rising uncertainty in the world economy on top of the aftermath of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death.

He also said the bank should deepen its public trust among shareholders and the market for its long-term growth because that is the root of the financial business.

The bank will also focus on laying the groundwork for sustainable growth by strengthening management effectiveness as best it can this year. In order to make sure the plan will work, Min will check up on the basic operational capacity of the bank, especially in such areas as marketing and business activities including headquarters’ support to branches and other banking outlets around the country.

Min said the bank will focus on risk management as its main task this year to protect customers’ funds by managing assets safely, particularly with rising uncertainty and a sluggish economy around the world. “We ought to be able to prevent assets from turning bad before it happens,” Min said. “The bank should also shake up its asset portfolio to achieve balance between household finance and corporate finance centered around healthy assets.”