A view of BNK Financial Group headquarters [BNK Financial Group]
A view of BNK Financial Group headquarters [BNK Financial Group]

BNK Financial Group announced Thursday that its subsidiaries BNK Busan Bank and BNK Kyongnam Bank have each established a Financial Consumer Protection Committee under their respective boards of directors.

The new committees give both banks a framework for the board to directly deliberate on and oversee major policies and decisions related to financial consumer protection. The independence and authority of each bank's chief consumer officer (CCO), who oversees consumer protection operations, have also been strengthened.

Going forward, the board will directly decide on the appointment and dismissal of the CCO, with a guaranteed two-year term. The arrangement is designed to allow the CCO to carry out consumer protection duties from an independent position on a stable, long-term basis.

BNK is also working to embed consumer-centered management across its organizational culture. A group-wide initiative called the "Re-Turn Challenge Contest" — open to all employees across BNK affiliates — is a key part of that effort.

Running since July 20, the contest invites employees to identify business practices that could pit the interests of financial firms against consumers, as well as systems, processes or inconveniences that disadvantage customers, and to propose ideas for improving them with the consumer in mind.

Outstanding proposals will be reviewed, rewarded and incorporated into actual business processes. The aim is to channel frontline problem-awareness into systemic reform, so that consumer-centered management translates into tangible operational improvements.

Hong Myeong-jong, BNK Financial Group's executive vice president for consumer protection and internal controls, said the group is "strengthening consumer protection governance at key subsidiaries while also running consumer-centered culture campaigns that all employees can join." He pledged to "work across both systems and culture to ensure that the rights and interests of financial consumers are genuinely protected."


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com