By Kim Jae-won
Fried chicken restaurant owner Kim, 31, was forced to close his shop a few years ago as its revenues dropped drastically as his restaurant was hit hard by the economic downturn. He simply could not pay back the loans which he secured to run his business.
But, Shinhan Bank supported him by cutting his interest and allowed him to pay back his loans in the long term, acknowledging his efforts to overcome bankruptcy. And finally, he paid back all the loans in June.
The lender also helped him borrow 20 million won from Shinhan Smile Microcredit Foundation at the interest rate of 4 percent because no bank was willing to give loans to him because of his low credit rating.
Kim is one of the beneficiaries of Shinhan’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) program helping low-credit small business owners overcome liquidity crises and run their own businesses again.
“Customers with non-performing loans were also good customers of Shinhan Bank. We decided to help them overcome their crises by helping them solve their debt problems,” said a Shinhan official.
Shinhan has pushed for the CSR program the last few years under the motto of “compassionate finance,” seeking to contribute to the development of society with the power of finance.
Shinhan Bank cooperated with its credit information affiliate, Shinhan Credit Information, in getting the project going. The lender said it is a good example of creating synergy between affiliates.