South Korea's top 5 financial groups hit 85% of inclusive finance target in first half

South Korea's five major financial holding groups — KB Financial Group, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — extended more than 11 trillion won ($7.31 billion) in inclusive finance in the first half of this year, reaching 85 percent of their annual target in just six months. Some groups have since raised their targets in response.

The Financial Services Commission said Sunday that it held an inclusive finance progress review meeting on Friday, chaired by FSC Secretary General Shin Jin-chang, with representatives from the five groups to assess first-half performance.

According to the FSC, the five groups collectively supplied 11.3 trillion won in inclusive finance from January through June — about 85 percent of the 13.22 trillion won annual target they announced at the start of the year.

The groups had pledged to provide roughly 70 trillion won in inclusive finance from this year through 2030. Their first-half disbursement represents about 16 percent of that five-year goal.

Beyond loans targeting low-income households, vulnerable groups, small-business owners and the self-employed — including Saeheuimang Hollssi loans, mid-rate loans and microfinance — the groups also restructured approximately 135,000 overdue debt cases worth about 2.3 trillion won through their own in-house programs. They also wrote off about 119,000 long-term delinquent debt cases totaling roughly 1.5 trillion won to help financially distressed borrowers return to economic activity.

Secretary General Shin urged the groups to "continue playing a leading and proactive role in raising financial access for vulnerable groups and reducing their financial burden." The five groups responded by saying they would "recognize inclusive finance not as a one-time gesture or act of charity, but as a standing obligation embedded in the financial system, and continue to put it into practice."

The FSC said it plans to conduct ongoing monitoring and feedback to ensure the inclusive finance expansion measures are implemented effectively.

An FSC official said the commission plans to redesign the private financial system through its inclusive finance strategy task force — introducing a comprehensive evaluation framework, designating dedicated chief officers, rationalizing prudential regulations and improving credit-scoring systems.

At Friday's meeting, each group shared its inclusive finance results and plans going forward.

KB Financial Group set a target of supplying 17 trillion won in inclusive finance from 2026 to 2030, with a 3 trillion won goal for this year. It had disbursed 2.5 trillion won by the end of June. The group also added supplementary targets not included in its original plan — among them 3.5 trillion won in private mid-rate loans — bringing its total tailored financial support target for this year alone to roughly 7 trillion won.

KB Financial Group restructured 444.1 billion won in debt in the first half and wrote off 210 billion won. In the second half, it plans to restructure an additional 461.6 billion won in debt and write off more than twice the first-half amount.

Shinhan Financial Group plans to supply 15 trillion won in inclusive finance over five years and had committed about 2.4 trillion won through the end of May. It aims to raise that figure to 4.5 trillion won by year-end — 1.5 trillion won above its original target. In the first half, it restructured 813.6 billion won in debt and either wrote off or allowed the statute of limitations to expire on 720 billion won in claims.

Shinhan Bank has been refinancing high-interest credit loans held by low- to mid-credit borrowers at or below the average Saeheuimang Hollssi rate of 6.9 percent. Its Youth Future Bridge Loan, designed for young people with limited credit histories, supplied 1.6 billion won — the most among the microfinance foundations of the four major banks.

Hana Financial Group plans to supply 16 trillion won in inclusive finance from 2026 to 2030 and had disbursed 2.1 trillion won as of the end of June. Key programs include the "Hana Only Boss Loan" and the "Hana More Soho Success Ladder Loan," which together have provided 1.3 trillion won. The group also plans to supply 2 trillion won through its Hana WON Q Ansim mid-rate loan — a fixed-rate product at 5.5 percent per year targeting borrowers in the bottom 50 percent by credit score, launched last month.

Hana Financial Group restructured 137.1 billion won in debt in the first half. Hana Bank in particular provided 95 billion won in debt restructuring support to individuals and small-business owners at risk of delinquency. The group also wrote off 404.4 billion won in long-term overdue debt.

Woori Financial Group originally set a five-year inclusive finance target of 7.4 trillion won. It has since expanded this year's goal from the original 1.2 trillion won to more than 3.5 trillion won and had supplied 2.1 trillion won through the first half. A notable initiative saw Woori Bank provide interest reductions totaling 2 billion won to 60,000 borrowers through a 7 percent annual interest rate cap on personal credit loans, in effect since January.

Woori Financial Group aims to write off 300 billion won in long-term overdue debt this year and had written off about 80 billion won through the first half. Woori Bank also carried out 430 billion won in in-house debt restructuring.

NH NongHyup Financial Group plans to supply a total of 15.3 trillion won in inclusive finance from 2026 to 2030 and had disbursed 2.1 trillion won through the first half. This year, the group has rolled out a series of tailored products — including the NH Daehanminguk Hanaro Eum Loan, which caps interest at 6.8 percent per year for youth, people with disabilities and single-parent households, and the NH Credit Recovery Partner Loan, which offers loans of up to 1 million won at 7 percent per year to borrowers undergoing debt restructuring.

In the fourth quarter, the group plans to contribute 100 billion won to establish the NH Microfinance Foundation and supply microfinance tailored specifically to farmers and young people returning to rural areas.