NH NongHyup Bank said on Thursday it launched the NH Korea One Bridge Loan, an inclusive finance product that applies a maximum interest rate of 6.8 percent to strengthen financial access for financially underserved groups.

The NH Korea One Bridge Loan targets youths, people with disabilities, single-parent families and farmers whose eligibility can be verified through administrative agencies with documents such as proof of disability registration and a single-parent family certificate.

It features loan screening using KCB estimated income for vulnerable groups who have difficulty providing income documentation. The aim is to provide access to finance for customers who have struggled to use existing financial services and to ease debt burdens that can lead to high interest rates and delinquency.

The loan limit ranges from 1 million won to a maximum of 10 million won, and it offers a preferential interest rate discount of up to 1.2 percentage points. If the final calculated loan rate exceeds 6.8 percent, 6.8 percent will be applied.

Chief Executive Officer Kang Tae-young (강태영) said, "We launched it to build a foundation for vulnerable groups to get back on their feet in a stable way within the formal financial system." He said, "Going forward, NongHyup Bank will faithfully serve as a financial ladder for ordinary people and vulnerable groups and will continue to practise warm finance that fulfils finance's social responsibility."