President Lee Dae-hoon of NH Bank

NH Bank has set up a special loan fund under the name of “NH Business Success Loan,” amounting to 3 trillion won, to be provided to companies sustain damages from the Japan’s unilateral trade sanctions against Korea.

The bank announced on Aug. 12 that it will give special low-interest preferential loans to firms suffering from the impacts of Japan’s removing of Korea from its white list on Aug. 2. This new restriction follows a surprise announcement by Japan last month that implemented export curbs to South Korea on essential chemical materials used to produce memory chips and semiconductors.

Under the “NH Business “Success Loan,” the bank will provide soft operational and facility loans to SMEs turning out essential raw materials and parts. The interest rate on those loans may be cut to as low as 1 percent per annum depending on their operational records and contributions to the national economy. NongHyup Financial Group opened the industry's biggest innovation campus that encompasses research and development, and fintech startup centers, the holding company said recently.

The fintech center will house more than 30 startups that will develop and commercialize their own business ideas, using technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analysis and blockchain.

They will also work with NongHyup Bank to connect with its interface to create low-cost mobile financial services.

The innovation campus will be the “control tower” of NongHyup Financial and its subsidiaries’ digital transformation, Chairman Kim Gwang-soo said at an opening event in Yangjae, Seoul. It will provide a full service to startups to attract investors for their projects. “This will be the center of our financial ecosystem that will help digitally transform NongHyup and create startup unicorns.” Kim said.

Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku said local fintech centers such as NongHyup’s will be “at the forefront in innovation.”

The chairman added the center housing 33 startups will work with the group to increase customer convenience in digital payments through an open interface system.

The FSC recently urged local financial holding companies to further open and make their interface systems available for financial technology startups.

NH NongHyup Bank is to revamp All One Bank, the first “joint mobile platform” in the investment banking industry.

All One Bank, which was launched in August last year, has gained popularity, boosted by its convenience, such as registration through another banks’ accounts and big letter remittance service for senior citizens, openness through active partnership with fintech firms, and coherence in real life, including travel package and auto loan package products. As of the end of 2016, the number of its subscribers surpassed 460,000.

In addition, the bank plans to release the global version of All One Bank in the second half of the year and come up with global market expansion strategy connecting with the opening of overseas branches.

According to an official from the smart finance division at NH NongHyup Bank, the bank recently opened a branch in Vietnam and is currently in talks for a business tie-up with local companies to launch the Vietnamese version of All One Bank service.

Meanwhlie, NH NongHyup Financial Group held an opening ceremony of “NongHyup Finance Myanmar” in Yangon, Myanmar, on the 6th last month.

NongHyup Finance Myanmar, the first foreign branch of NH NongHyup Bank, is located in Yangon, the capital of the country’s economy, as a base and is planning to start small loan business for farmers and low-income workers.

It also plans to expand its small loan business to other regions and push into banking industry in the medium and long term.

An ad for the NH Business Success Loan Fund,” which NH Bank set up especially for the SMEs in trouble due to Korea’s removal from Japanese White List of Importing Nations. (Photos: NH Bank)