S. Korea’s Woori Bank under fire for $45m in improper loans

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has revealed that Woori Bank, a unit of Woori Financial Group Inc., issued inappropriate loans totalling $45 million to companies linked to relatives of its former chairman.

The regulator reported that between April 2020 and January 2024, Woori Bank granted 42 loans amounting to 61.6 billion won to 20 such companies, with 28 loans worth 35 billion won failing to follow proper screening procedures or management guidelines. More than half of these loans are now non-performing.

The FSS plans to impose sanctions on Woori Bank and refer the case to investigation authorities. In response, Woori Bank has apologised and announced that disciplinary actions, including the dismissal of eight employees, have been taken.

The bank anticipates reporting losses between 8.2 billion won and 15.8 billion won due to the bad loans and has pledged full cooperation with regulatory and investigative authorities.

Attribution: Bloomberg