IBK Expands Operations

Aimed at strengthening retail, int'l banking and SME lending

Industrial Bank of Korea is one of Korea's leading banks, with the public policy role of promoting growth among Korea's small and medium-sized companies. Established in 1961 under the Industrial Bank of Korea Act by the government, IBK is involved in many business areas including SME lending, household lending, deposit taking, credit card services, electronic banking, venture capital, and trust account management.
The bank has 11 regional headquarters and 395 branches located in the country. Internationally, the bank has operations located in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Tianjin and Qingdao. IBK is one of the country's largest banks with about $6.6 billion in revenues, $3.74 billion in capital and $71.4 billion in assets at 2004 year-end.
With the government owning 57.7 percent of the bank, IBK complies with stringent capital coverage and risk management policies set forth by the banking authorities. As a result, IBK has earned excellent credit ratings relative to its domestic peers and is regarded as one of Korea's premier financial institutions. The bank is organized around the following four major business areas: SME banking, consumer banking, Internet banking, and international banking.
As of December, 2005, IBK has established the following credit ratings: Moody's A3; S$P A-; and Fitch A+.
SME banking focuses on providing distinctive banking services designed to meet the complex needs of SMEs through services such as lending, venture financing, and research and extension services. IBK is considered a leading financial service provider to these companies in Korea and continues to show its commitment to the sector by dedicating approximately 85 percent of its loan portfolio to SMEs.
The emergence of SMEs is critical to Korea's future growth prospects. It is the policy role of IBK to promote SMEs in order to further develop Korea's national economy, giving IBK the leadership position in servicing dynamic group of companies.
Aside from its policy to serve and support Korea's SMEs,IBK also has a strong retail presence in Korea with 11 regional headquarters and 395 branches throughout the country in order to diversity its operations and to better serve Korea's general public. Via its conveniently located branches across Korea, IBK offers retail banking services including loans, deposits, money transfers, and trust accounts.
IBK's retail banking operations also form a valuable source of stable low-cost funds for its SME lending activities. The bank's new upgraded client database gives IBK insightful understanding of each client's financial objectives and allowed IBK to become more responsive to changing client needs and to provide proactive personalized services. As a result, IBK is recognized as one of Korea's leading financial institutions in the retail-banking sector. With traditional bank deposits losing their merits due to the low interest rates in 2004, liquidity moved to more profitable products and services.
IBK has been involved in international banking since 1967. International Banking Department, Treasury Department, and Trading Department are primarily responsible for the bank's international banking business including correspondent banking, international finance, investment banking, project financing, foreign exchange trading and financial derivatives engineering. In 2002, the departments developed foreign currency denominated products jointly with consumer and corporate banking departments such as Foreign Currency Option yen Loan, Fine Double Chance Time Deposit and Interest Rate Option
Won Deposit.
In 2004, the bank employed various marketing channels and diversified its offering set in an effort to broaden the client base. Marketing to premier clients, IBK leveraged its strategic relationships to deliver differentiated products and services in money exchange, money transfers, export credit guarantee, and trade financing. Also, heavily promoted were Internet-based services such as the electronic data interchange(EDI), on-line money exchange, exports documents tracking, and trade documents developer. Through its Export-Import Transaction Support Center, the bank actively provided consulting services on various aspects of international trade, including duty drawback claims international disputes, risk management, foreign direct investment and international marketing. In addition, the bank twice held Export Business Seminars in Seoul, and Busan and participated in the 2004 Trade Show. nw

IBK President Kang Kwon-suk