A new path has opened for small business owners with strong future growth potential to secure larger loans from banks. The Financial Services Commission has launched a banking-sector pilot of the Specialized Small-Business Credit Bureau (SCB), and FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won visited the Industrial Bank of Korea on September 2 to hear from users on the ground and related institutions.
 [코리안투데이] 소상공인의 금융접근성이 높아집니다 이제 미래 성장성이 높은 소상공인은 은행에서 더 많은 대출을 받으실 수 있 © 장형임 기자 |
The Financial Services Commission (FSC), chaired by Lee Eok-won, has begun a banking-sector pilot of the Specialized Small-Business Credit Bureau (SCB). Chairman Lee visited the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) on September 2 to review the progress of the pilot and to listen to the voices of policy beneficiaries and officials from related institutions.
The SCB is a system that assesses the future growth potential of small business owners by analyzing in detail non-financial information — such as sales, industry sector, commercial district and business characteristics — that has been difficult to reflect under conventional credit assessments centered on financial transaction history. After announcing the introduction plan at the third Task Force on the Reform of the Credit Assessment System on April 9, the FSC has worked with related institutions — including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Korea Federation of Credit Guarantee Foundations, Seoul Guarantee Insurance, the banking sector, credit rating agencies and the Korea Credit Information Services — to expand the pool of beneficiaries and enhance how tangibly the policy is felt.
 [코리안투데이] 소상공인의 금융접근성이 높아집니다 이제 미래 성장성이 높은 소상공인은 은행에서 더 많은 대출을 받으실 수 있 © 장형임 기자 |
The regulatory groundwork for implementing the system was also put in place step by step. The revised 〈Regulation on Supervision of Credit Information Business〉 took effect on August 13, and the banking sector’s 〈Guidelines for Credit Screening of Loans to Individual Business Owners〉 on August 14. This was followed on August 31 by the 〈Banking-Sector SCB Operating Guidelines〉, which spell out how the SCB is to be used and include provisions on indemnity, drawn up after gathering the views of the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Credit Information Services and the banking industry. These guidelines stipulate preferential treatment — such as loan approval, higher limits and lower interest rates — when a borrower’s SCB grade rises, and they recognize indemnity where related work has been handled faithfully in accordance with laws and procedures, without willful misconduct or gross negligence.
The number of banks taking part in the pilot has grown from the previous 7 banks worth 1.8 trillion won to 16 banks worth 2.2 trillion won. On August 31, eight banks — KB Kookmin, IBK, NH Nonghyup, Busan, Shinhan, Woori, Jeju and Hana — began the pilot, while the remaining eight — Gyeongnam, Gwangju, Suhyup, iM, Jeonbuk, Kakao, K Bank and Toss — plan to begin in sequence during the second half of the year depending on their state of readiness. The banking industry plans to grant benefits such as higher credit ratings, larger loan limits and lower loan interest rates to small business owners with high growth grades.
 [코리안투데이] 소상공인의 금융접근성이 높아집니다 이제 미래 성장성이 높은 소상공인은 은행에서 더 많은 대출을 받으실 수 있 © 장형임 기자 |
At the on-site meeting held at IBK that day, credit facility agreements were signed with small business owners who had qualified for preferential treatment thanks to high growth grades. Until now, small business owners have struggled to clear the threshold of banks’ loan screening, and even when they secured loans, the limits were often insufficient. Participants responded enthusiastically to the fact that the SCB makes relatively low-interest bank loans possible and raises credit limits.
One participant, surnamed Bae, said, ‘With the cost of raw materials such as food ingredients rising sharply lately, the financial burden has been heavy, and it was hard to secure the funds I needed with only my existing loan limit.’ Bae added, ‘Through this SCB system, various factors such as the characteristics of my industry, the conditions of my commercial district and my capabilities as a business owner were reflected and assessed, and as a result I was granted an additional loan limit and could secure the operating funds I needed, which was a great relief.’ Another participant, surnamed Chae, said, ‘I had difficulty raising the full amount to purchase new machinery and equipment, but because they took into account my business history, my future operating base and even my growth potential, I was able to obtain enough additional lending to cover the entire purchase price.’ Chae added, ‘Being able to proceed with a new contract without a hitch will be a great help.’ A prior survey of loan-screening demand conducted by the banking industry also showed that small business owners across a wide range of industries could broadly qualify as beneficiaries.
 [코리안투데이] 소상공인의 금융접근성이 높아집니다 이제 미래 성장성이 높은 소상공인은 은행에서 더 많은 대출을 받으실 수 있 © 장형임 기자 |
IBK President Jang Min-young said, ‘It is deeply meaningful to be part of the SCB pilot on the ground,’ adding, ‘I feel a real sense of reward in supporting small business owners with growth potential, and we will strive to support high-growth small business owners more actively and in greater numbers.’ Ahn Seung-bae, vice chairman of the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise, said, ‘Small business owners have long faced difficulties in accessing finance because of the high threshold of the existing credit assessment system, but the introduction of the SCB will provide an opportunity for their business track record, sales, competitiveness and growth potential to be assessed in a balanced way.’ He stressed, ‘Based on field opinions and the results of the pilot, I hope it will spread to more financial institutions and to policy finance.’
 [코리안투데이] 소상공인의 금융접근성이 높아집니다 이제 미래 성장성이 높은 소상공인은 은행에서 더 많은 대출을 받으실 수 있 © 장형임 기자 |
Chairman Lee Eok-won said, ‘Inclusive finance tends to bring to mind charitable funding support for the socially vulnerable, but it is also very important to put in place fair and reasonable systems so that those who are fully capable are not pushed aside without even a chance to compete.’ He assessed that ‘the introduction of the SCB, which evaluates growth potential based on non-financial data, is an example that aligns with this spirit of inclusive finance.’ He continued, ‘Small business owners who have grown steadily in their local commercial districts will now be able to receive preferential treatment in loan screening, limits and interest rates,’ adding, ‘We will gather opinions from the field and reflect them in improving and supplementing the system.’
The FSC plans to run the SCB pilot for roughly one year, through the second half of 2027, and then, based on an analysis of its performance, to improve the system so that the entire banking sector can apply the SCB to a greater number of loan products for small business owners. It also plans to have the SCB reflected in various ways in the Saitdol loan exclusively for individual business owners, to be launched from this October, as well as in the guarantee screening and evaluation carried out by regional credit guarantee foundations during 2027.
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화
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