Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Hana Bank's China branch marks 10 bil. yuan in personal loans
By Yi Whan-woo
Hana Bank said Thursday its China branch office reached the 10 billion yuan ($1.54 billion) mark in total personal loans, a first among Korean lenders operating there.
It said the milestone comes less than three years after Hana Bank (China) Company Ltd. commenced its loan service allowing customers to borrow small amounts of money through mobile banking.
This promotional image highlights Hana Bank (China) Company Ltd. reaching 10 billion yuan ($1.54 billion) in personal loans. / Courtesy of Hana Bank
By Yi Whan-woo
The service was made possible in cooperation with Alibaba, Baidu and Ctrip, with each being a platform business leader concerning online shopping malls, search engines and online travel agencies, respectively.
“The milestone was indeed achieved by capitalizing on the expertise of China's leading ICT companies as platform operators,” the bank said.
The bank expressed hopes its loan service will become more popular, as more retail customers are turning to digital banking over offline banking in the pandemic era.
“In that regard, we will try to overcome obstacles from offline operation by working actively with platform operators to attract new customers in cyberspace,” the lender said.
It expected to capitalize on the business knowhow of its China branch office to expand its presence in other countries.
The bank's retail banking strategy in China is in accordance with Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo's vision for digital innovation in finance.
Ham, who took office in March, underlined such innovation along with optimization of the group's competence on its path to becoming Asia's top financial services company.