韩国媒体披露Welcome储蓄银行二季度对New Start基金调解型债务重组的拒绝率高达98.2%、SBI储蓄银行81.7%，引发对储蓄银行应承担脆弱借款人救助角色的批评

Welcome Savings Bank Rejects 98% of Debt Relief Requests - Seoul Economic Daily
Skip to main content
Seoul Economic Daily
Seoul Economic Daily
KST
Seoul Economic Daily
Korea's Leading Business News Since 1960
한국어
Menu
Saved Articles
Newsletters
AI KEY
Settings
|
Summary
|
Save
A
A
A
Welcome Savings Bank rejected nearly all requests for mediated debt restructuring under the New Start Fund in the second quarter of this year. SBI Savings Bank, the industry's largest by assets, also turned down a large share of requests. As high rejection rates persist at some major savings banks, critics say the lenders should take a more active role in restructuring debts owed by vulnerable borrowers.
Welcome Savings Bank's rejection rate for mediated debt restructuring under the New Start Fund reached 98.2% in the second quarter, financial industry sources said on the 14th. That means the lender declined virtually every restructuring request it received. SBI Savings Bank's rejection rate stood at 81.7%.
The high rates were not new to the second quarter. Welcome Savings Bank posted a rejection rate of 89% in the first quarter, and SBI Savings Bank 71.8%. NH Savings Bank and JT Chinae Savings Bank recorded rejection rates of 100% in the second quarter, but they received only 194 and 45 requests respectively, far fewer than Welcome's 496 and SBI's 727.
Mediated debt restructuring under the New Start Fund is a program designed to ease repayment burdens for small business owners and the self-employed hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. It lowers interest rates or extends repayment periods based on factors such as a borrower's ability to repay. When a financial institution does not agree to a proposed plan, restructuring of that loan is difficult to complete.
Rejections also rose across the savings bank sector as a whole. The number of rejected cases climbed 8.6% to 3,724 in the second quarter from 3,429 in the first. The rejection rate over the same period rose 1.8 percentage points to 68.6% from 66.8%.
The broader financial sector moved in the opposite direction. Rejections at all financial companies fell 2.0% to 34,689 in the second quarter from 35,395 in the first, and the rejection rate declined to 67.7% from 70.1%. Rejections dropped 4.2% at banks and 3.3% at credit finance companies, and also fell at mutual finance institutions and insurers.
Savings banks say restructuring weighs on profitability because it involves lower interest rates and longer repayment periods. They add that participating actively is difficult because restructuring mainly targets borrowers with mid- to low credit scores, who make up a large share of savings bank customers. The sector's delinquency rate stood at 6.26% at the end of June, up 0.22 percentage point from the end of last year.
Still, some argue that savings banks should participate more actively given their role as an emergency source of funds for low- and middle-income households and vulnerable borrowers. "Profitability does deteriorate once restructuring begins, so it is hard to be proactive," a financial industry official said. "But to fulfill their role as lenders serving low- and middle-income borrowers, they need to improve their approval rates."
#
WelcomeSavingsBank
#
SBISavingsBank
#
NewStartFund
#
DebtRestructuring
#
KoreaFinance
#
SavingsBanks
Original reporting by
Jung In-hyuk
for Seoul Economic Daily.
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording.
View Korean original
↗
Translation Policy
Watch · Seoul Economic Daily
More →
2:20
KB Securities Sees Samsung Back at No.1, SK Hynix at No.3 Next Year | September 14 2026 | Securities Daily
2:20
Most Read This Week
1
-
5
‹
›
1
JBL Launches Xtreme 5 Bluetooth Speaker With Stronger Bass
2
Hyundai, POSCO Break Ground on $5.8 Billion U.S. Steel Mill
3
China Pumps 300 Billion Yuan Into Eight Financial Firms
4
Korea to Offer 20,000 Homes at 1,000 Won a Day for Young Adults
5
Samsung, SK hynix Memory Stockpiles Fall Below 10 Days
← Back to Home
AI KEY
Preview
↗
Korean Corporate Intelligence Hub
KOSPI · KOSDAQ · 12 sectors
A live, cap-weighted view of every KOSPI and KOSDAQ sector, with same-day Korean reporting distilled by company — built for foreign investors, correspondents and analysts who need to scan Korea before the next session.
Click to explore AI KEY
→
Open AI KEY in full screen
↗
Korea Company Atlas
Preview
↗
Market Ontology · The Feedback Loop
KFTC 2025 · 92 groups · 121,954 articles
An English ontology of the Korean market — how companies, the media, the government and the National Assembly move each other in a loop. Korea's named controlling persons and designated business groups are a mechanism, not a risk to be priced blind.
Click to explore the atlas
→
Open Atlas in full screen
↗
SIGNAL
Now live
↗
English Edition · Capital Markets
M&A · IPO · PE · Fund Flows
SIGNAL English Edition is live — Korea's deal desk reporting in English. M&A, IPOs, private equity and fund flows, covered daily for global institutional investors. Browse free; subscriber-only scoops at the 50% intro rate.
Click to explore SIGNAL
→
Open SIGNAL in full screen
↗