Recording Phenomenal Growth
Korea Exim Bank expands 430 times in 29 years

The Korea Export-Import Bank opened for business with just 20 billion won in capital in 1976 to support the growth of heavy and chemical industries. Its capital has now grown to 3.290 trillion won with the extension of credit totaling 23.350 trillion won last year, compared to 53 billion won when it was first started its operation some 29 years ago.
The Korean economy catapulted to become the 10th largest in the world, although started as a developing economy and exports include many heavy, chemical products including high-tech products such as those in IT and BT sectors, shedding light industrial goods. The role of Exim Bank expanded to cope with those phenomenal developments in the economy and foreign trade and the bank changed its CI to symbolize its greater role.
The bank also set up a fresh set of management ideal system based on a new vision, EXIM spirit, stressing customers, responsibility and creativity and EXIM personnel excellence image focuses on challenging spirit, professionalism and team work. The bank wanted to express its readiness to work hard for the next 30 years for the national economy and the bank itself with an attitude of starting a new business.
Chairman and President of the bank, Shin Dong-gyu said he set up a mid-term management road map after assuming the top post at the bank in September, 2003, to make the bank a core bank in supporting international financial transactions. The bank's image has been improved a great deal lately so much so that the bank is in the position to either cooperate with advanced banks or compete with them in the area of international trade support. The chairman is certain that the Korea Exim Bank would be a new role model in the international trade financial market if the bank continues to try to exert its effort as it has done in the past couple of years.
The bank has recorded a tremendous growth in the past couple of years in terms of both quantity and quality. Its extension of credit amounted to 23.350 trillion won last year, up 1.5 times from the previous year. Net profit reached 77.5 billion won last year from 54 billion won in the previous year. The ratio of non-performing assets fell to 1.14 percent last year from 2.16 percent in the previous year. The bank? first-half results have been excellent with its credit extension rising to 12.900 trillion won, about 54 percent of the target as the bank plans to extend a total of 24 trillion won in credit including 13.500 trillion won in loans and 10.500 trillion won in guarantees. The bank has done exceedingly well in making loans to SMEs, recording 2.360 trillion won in the first half against 3.675 trillion won targeted.
In the first half, net profit surpassed those for the whole of last year with 110 billion won and the ratio of non-performing assets dropped to 0.33 percent in the first half from 1.14 percent at the end of last year. The BIS ratio rose to 13.4 percent in the first half from 12.9 percent at the end of last year
South Korea imports about 2.3 million barrels of crude oil daily, making it the fifth largest oil importing nation in the world. Oil and gas and other international raw materials have a great impact on the national economy, with requiring their stable supply a topmost priority. The bank has been providing long-term finances to help secure overseas resources to Korean firms based on its plan to support large overseas resources development projects with excellent prospects jointly with public firms engaged in those projects. In other words, the bank has been providing long-term foreign currency loans to those firms in engaged in exploitation of oil and gas overseas and with confirmed oil and gas fields, all in a bid to expand the self-sufficiency of natural resources.
The bank released a total of $440 million to 42 projects overseas and this year, and the bank plans to triple the amount to 200 billion won. The bank will cut the interest rates on those loans from 0.5 to 1 percent per annum and extend 100 percent of funding requirements for the borrowers. The bank signed business agreements with the Korea National Oil Corp. and Korea Resources Corp. nw

Korea Exim Bank Chairman & President Shin Dong-kyu.