Shinhan Bank said on Saturday it will build specialised hubs in the southwest and southeast to support stronger regional industrial competitiveness and job creation, in line with its “5 poles, 3 special zones” balanced national growth strategy.

The ShinhanSOL Cluster is Shinhan Bank’s regional financial support platform that comprehensively provides productive finance and inclusive finance linked to local specialised industries. Shinhan Bank will first establish it with a focus on the southwest and southeast.

In the southwest, it will set up the Gwangju AI Specialised Cluster in Gwangju to support AI and convergence-specialised industries. It plans to assign specialised review and sales personnel tailored to local industry characteristics and pursue lending support measures aligned with corporate funding needs.

In the southeast, it will set up the Busan Vessel MRO (Maintenance·Repair·Overhaul) Cluster in Busan to support shipbuilding and defence value chains. It plans to strengthen financial support linked to the vessel MRO industry and expand supply chain finance for regional anchor companies and cooperating small and medium-sized firms.

It will also expand financial consumer protection and community support in conjunction with operating the regional hubs. The bank plans to build a customer counselling centre to prevent voice phishing, promote preferential hiring of local talent and expand digital finance education by newly establishing “Hagijae” in Gwangju. It also plans to expand support for local small merchants and regional universities using the delivery app “Ttaenggyeoyo” and the university student platform “HeyYoung Campus.”

A Shinhan Bank official said the ShinhanSOL Cluster is a strategy to strengthen financial support by regional industry. The official added the bank will continue to contribute to balanced national growth through productive and inclusive finance and sustain its role as a financial institution that grows together with local communities.

The official also said the bank plans to gradually expand support for industrial growth and revitalising local economies in regions that are relatively underserved in financial support, including Gangwon and Jeju, based on the group-level financial hub being promoted in Jeonbuk Innovation City and the new southwest and southeast hubs.