As the financial sector intensifies its focus on consumer protection, regional financial groups are also taking steps to improve governance and develop specialized personnel.
According to the financial sector on August 1, BNK Financial Group has established a Financial Consumer Protection Committee under the board of directors for BNK Busan Bank and BNK Gyeongnam Bank. This move aims to directly review and supervise key policies and decisions related to consumer protection at the board level.
The independence and authority of the Chief Consumer Protection Officer (CCO) have also been strengthened. From now on, the appointment and dismissal of the CCO will be decided directly by the board, with a guaranteed term of two years.
BNK Financial is also conducting a 'Return to Consumers Challenge Contest' for employees across all subsidiaries. This competition invites participants to identify unfavorable business practices and various inconveniences for consumers and propose improvement measures. Outstanding suggestions will be incorporated into actual business processes.
Meanwhile, iM Financial Group is participating in a 'Financial Consumer Protection Training Program' organized by the Korea Financial Training Institute to enhance its consumer protection capabilities at the group level.
Key personnel responsible for consumer protection from major subsidiaries, including iM Bank, iM Securities, iM Life, iM Capital, and iM Asset Management, are participating in this training. The program focuses on designing key performance indicators (KPIs) centered on consumer protection, evaluations by the Financial Supervisory Service, and strategies for handling complaints and disputes.
iM Financial plans to reorganize the consumer protection framework for each subsidiary and establish ongoing communication channels among responsible personnel to enhance the group's response capabilities.
Hwang Byeong-woo, Chairman of iM Financial Group, stated, “Consumer protection is a core competitiveness for the sustainable growth of financial companies and the starting point for customer trust. We will internalize consumer-centered values throughout our operations to create a trustworthy financial environment for our customers.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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