Woori Financial Group headquarters [Woori Financial Group]
Woori Financial Group headquarters [Woori Financial Group]

Woori Bank has secured a three-year extension as the foreign currency custodian for the National Pension Service, a role it has now held for nearly 15 years since its first contract in 2014. The bank's selection is credited to its broad institutional support — including 16 dedicated departments and AI-powered automation of routine tasks.

Woori Bank and the National Pension Service signed a foreign currency custody agreement on July 14, according to financial industry sources Wednesday. Starting Saturday, Woori Bank will handle foreign exchange receipts and disbursements and manage foreign currency accounts tied to the pension fund's overseas investments for three years. The contract can be extended by up to two additional years through annual performance reviews.

Woori Bank served as the National Pension Service's foreign currency custodian from 2014 to 2018 and again from 2021 to the present. If the current contract runs its maximum term, the bank's cumulative tenure will reach 15 years — the longest in the banking industry.

The National Pension Service highly valued Woori Bank's foreign exchange experience and operational capabilities during the selection process. Over the past five years, the bank processed about 1.49 million foreign currency transactions, including roughly 200,000 foreign currency payments, remittances and FX conversions. Over the same period, the pension fund's overseas investment assets more than tripled, rising from 303.9 trillion won ($207 billion) to 930.7 trillion won as of the end of April.

The bank's dedicated support structure was also cited as a key strength. Woori Bank operates six specialized units for the pension fund — including a pension fund client division, an NPS North Jeolla Province business headquarters, a National Pension Service financial center and an IT support unit. It also maintains more than 10 supporting departments, among them a foreign exchange business division, a foreign exchange operations center, a treasury division, a money market sales division, a money market operations division and an AI strategy center.

The bank also supports transactions in 19 currencies required by the National Pension Service, along with a range of cross-currency trades, and manages the full payment chain — from fund transfers to final settlement confirmation — through its network of overseas financial institutions including JPMorgan.

Woori Bank plans to integrate AI capabilities into the National Pension Service's foreign currency custody system to improve efficiency in repetitive tasks. The bank will also open a "Woori WON Finance Town" in Jeonju, where the National Pension Service is headquartered, this month and will establish a standing consultative body to meet regularly and strengthen its responsiveness on foreign exchange matters.

"We will combine our accumulated foreign exchange expertise with on-site support in Jeonju and an AI-based system to ensure the National Pension Service's overseas investments proceed without disruption," a Woori Bank official said.


hyuk@heraldcorp.com