KakaoBank said it completed agreements to launch interest-support guaranteed loans with regional credit guarantee foundations across South Korea’s 17 cities and provinces, concluding with Gyeonggi and Jeju. The accumulated supply of the loans reached about 1.2 trillion won through the end of July, it said. Small merchants using the product saved an accumulated 23.6 billion won in interest, with an average rate cut of 1.99 percentage points.

NH Nonghyup Financial Group will promote a “regional close-to-home finance project” as a key task in the second half of the year. It plans to expand investment and lending to region-specific industries and companies and focus group capabilities on easing the financial burden of vulnerable groups and delinquent debtors. The group reviewed second-half plans at a special committee meeting in Seoul and said it supplied a total of 14 trillion won in productive and inclusive finance in the first half.