NH NongHyup Financial to build financial hub in North Jeolla Province

NH NongHyup Financial Group is stepping up region-specific financial support in line with the government's "Five Poles, Three Specials" national balanced-growth policy.

The group announced Sunday that it has selected North Jeolla Province as its second regional focus, following the April opening of a comprehensive aviation, maritime and defense industry support center in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, and will now roll out group-wide support for the area.

The group plans to launch an "NH Financial Hub" — a working title — in the third quarter, alongside the opening of an NH-Amundi Asset Management office in Jeonju. The initiative is intended to accelerate financial support for North Jeolla Province, which is seeking designation as the country's third financial center. The group aims to build a comprehensive financial services platform by adding asset management capabilities to its existing NongHyup Financial infrastructure, which spans banking, life insurance, non-life insurance and securities.

Support will focus on North Jeolla's key industries: agri-bio, physical AI and renewable energy. Core group affiliates — spanning banking, insurance, securities, asset management and venture investment — plan to collaborate across all fronts.

Key initiatives include activating corporate finance support through special contributions to North Jeolla's credit guarantee institutions (banking), expanding commercial insurance (non-life insurance), identifying innovative companies (venture investment), and generating affiliate synergies through the Jeonju office opening while boosting participation in national pension projects (asset management).

The group will also activate its "K-Food Scale-Up Program," an agri-food company support initiative unique to NongHyup Financial. NongHyup Bank plans to expand financial support — including specialized loans and trade finance — for companies based at the National Food Industry Cluster in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, and will offer tailored consulting services. To that end, the group will grow the related fund to 1 trillion won ($647 million) over the next five years to identify and invest in agri-food companies and provide funding through preferential interest rates.

"North Jeolla Province is a new financial hub for South Korea," said Lee Chan-woo, chairman of NH NongHyup Financial Group. "Through the NH Financial Hub, we will pool our affiliates' capabilities to become a steadfast partner in helping North Jeolla emerge as a key financial and industrial center."

Meanwhile, NH NongHyup Financial opened a maritime, aviation and defense comprehensive support center in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, in April, announcing plans to provide 10 trillion won in support over the next five years.

As of the end of last year, 61.2 percent of the group's more than 1,200 offices nationwide were located outside the Greater Seoul metropolitan area, making it the only regionally embedded financial institution in the country. Following the North Jeolla NH Financial Hub, the group said it will continue developing financial support models tailored to each of the "Five Poles, Three Specials" regions to help strengthen the nation's industrial competitiveness.