Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin (이찬진) met savings bank chief executives and urged them to strengthen support for ordinary people and local economies and to practice responsible, sound management.

The Financial Supervisory Service said on Tuesday that Lee held a meeting at 10 a.m. at a conference room on the 18th floor of the Savings Bank Central Association in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Attendees included the association chairman and CEOs of 10 major savings banks, as well as the FSS assistant governor for small and medium-sized finance, the head of the Small and Medium-sized Finance Supervision Bureau, and the head of the first Small and Medium-sized Finance Inspection Bureau.

The meeting was arranged to discuss key issues facing the savings bank sector this year and its development direction, and to hear the industry's requests.

Lee positively assessed the industry's self-rescue efforts and a recent recovery trend, even as savings banks faced a phase of deteriorating asset quality in recent years. He stressed that it was time for savings banks to return to their original role as a dependable partner supporting ordinary people, small and medium-sized companies and local economies.

He first called for a stronger role in inclusive finance. He urged banks to establish a system that assesses borrowers' future growth potential in line with their status as locally rooted financial institutions, and to work to ensure smooth funding for local small businesses and small and medium-sized companies. Over the long term, he said they should work to build and entrench a co-growth model in which local economies and savings banks grow together.

He also stressed consumer protection centered on the field. Lee called for tangible changes at sales sites, including ensuring access to financial information and choice by providing product and system guidance that matches the level of ordinary people and small and medium-sized companies, the main customers of savings banks. He also urged banks to vitalize mid-interest loans and rationalize loan brokerage fees to lead efforts to ease interest burdens for ordinary people.

Lee presented sound management and stronger internal controls as key tasks. He said the introduction this year of a responsibility structure framework in the savings bank sector should be an opportunity for each company to build a tailored internal control system suited to its business structure and size and to lay the foundation for accountable management. He again stressed the need to establish a sound management system that is not shaken by external changes by sufficiently setting aside loan-loss provisions and expanding capital.

Savings bank CEOs said they agreed with social expectations and roles as representative local and retail financial institutions, and expressed their intention to continue carrying out their duties on a responsibility basis and to expand their roles. They added that business conditions were not easy due to a slowdown in local economies and a heavier burden of asset quality management, and asked for policy support from financial authorities so they can operate stably while faithfully performing their core role.

In response, Lee said, "We will closely review the opinions discussed at the meeting and will not spare support to help resolve difficulties in the field." He added, "I hope savings banks will play a pivotal role in delivering warmth across financial front lines in local communities and for ordinary people."