The Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership (KCCP) announced today (June 24) that it will conduct a pilot evaluation of the "Win-Win Finance Index" in the second half of this year, in collaboration with the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, to assess the win-win cooperation performance of financial institutions and the level of satisfaction among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners.

The Win-Win Finance Index is a metric that quantifies the win-win cooperation performance of financial companies and the perceived benefits among SMEs and small business owners. Its legal basis was established through an amendment to the "Act on the Promotion of Win-Win Cooperation Between Large and Small Enterprises" in November last year.

This pilot evaluation will first be implemented for six major banks with significant SME loan portfolios: Kookmin, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), NongHyup, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana Bank.

The KCCP explained that it introduced the index to objectively evaluate the financial sector's efforts toward mutual growth and to foster a financial ecosystem where financial institutions, SMEs, and small business owners can grow together, given that SMEs rely on banks for most of their funding needs.

The Win-Win Finance Index consists of a win-win finance performance evaluation (40 points), a win-win cooperation performance evaluation (40 points), a satisfaction survey (20 points), and deduction items.

The win-win finance performance evaluation assesses loan supply to SMEs and small business owners, technology-based financing, relationship-based financing, and debt restructuring. The win-win cooperation performance evaluation reflects efforts to support the innovative growth of SMEs using the financial company's infrastructure, balanced regional growth, and the fulfillment of social responsibilities.

The satisfaction survey covers loan conditions such as interest rates and fees, efforts to reflect non-financial evaluations during the loan screening process, and satisfaction with non-financial support programs.

Social controversies or violations of laws related to financial transactions or win-win growth will be subject to point deductions.

The Financial Supervisory Service will be responsible for the win-win finance performance evaluation, while the KCCP will handle the win-win cooperation performance evaluation and the satisfaction survey.

Lee Dal-gon, Chairman of the KCCP, stated, "The introduction of this Win-Win Finance Index is a meaningful milestone that expands the scope of mutual growth, which has previously focused on direct cooperative relationships in sectors like manufacturing, to include win-win cooperation between financial institutions and SMEs."

(Photo: Provided by Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, Yonhap News)