Gwangju Bank Offers Tailored Financial and Business Solutions to Local Small Business Owners

Inclusive Finance Center Operates On-Site Booth at Comprehensive Consultation EventProvides Tailored Consulting, From Business Assessments to Debt Adjustment

Gwangju Bank has stepped up efforts to help local small business owners restore their operations as they struggle with multiple challenges, including high interest rates and sluggish domestic demand.

Gwangju Bank said on October 14 that its Inclusive Finance Center had taken part in an in-person, comprehensive consultation event organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for small business owners facing business difficulties and debt burdens, providing tailored business consulting and financial advice.

Gwangju Bank's Inclusive Finance Center took part in an in-person consultation event organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for small business owners facing financial difficulties and debt burdens, providing tailored business consulting and financial advice. Provided by Gwangju Bank.

The event brought together policy and financial institutions, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Financial Supervisory Service, Regional Offices of SMEs and Startups, the Small Enterprise and Market Service, the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service, regional credit guarantee foundations, and the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency, as well as experts in business recovery support. They sought a range of solutions to help more than 200 small business owners in the Gwangju and South Jeolla regions overcome their difficulties.

Gwangju Bank’s Inclusive Finance Center was the only regional financial institution to operate an on-site booth. It assigned professional counselors to hear about business owners’ financial difficulties and offer one-on-one funding solutions tailored to each business’s financial circumstances and repayment capacity.

To make the consultations more effective, the center offered two tracks based on each business’s condition and needs: “Track A,” which prioritized business assessments, and “Track B,” which prioritized financial consultations. The booths covered business assessments, policy funds, credit guarantees, labor and marketing consulting, debt adjustment including personal rehabilitation and bankruptcy, financial services for low-income households, and support for business closures and restarts.

Gwangju Bank has built up its non-financial consulting capabilities, offering commercial district analyses and business improvement plans in addition to conventional loan-based funding. Its cumulative number of consulting sessions has exceeded 1,500 over the past six years or so, making the bank a reliable source of support for local self-employed business owners.

The center also continues to operate products for borrowers with low credit scores and other vulnerable borrowers, including support for socially vulnerable groups under the Sunshine Loan Special program, SOS business management and rehabilitation support from the Jeonnam Credit Guarantee Foundation, and special inclusive finance loans, actively helping local small business owners get back on their feet.

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