Six regional banks, the association, HUG and HF join forces for balanced regional development

Participants pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony. From left: Lim Hyeong-su, deputy president of Gwangju Bank; Noh Ik-ho, deputy president of Jeonbuk Bank; Yang In-seok, head of the financial business division at Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation; Lee Hwan-seok, executive vice president of Korea Housing Finance Corporation; Kim Seong-eun, chairman of the Korea Housing Builders Association; Kim Tae-han, president of Kyongnam Bank; Noh Hae-dong, managing director of Busan Bank; Shin Seong-u, assistant deputy president of iM Bank; and Kim Ho-dae, deputy president of Jeju Bank. [Korea Housing Builders Association]
Participants pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony. From left: Lim Hyeong-su, deputy president of Gwangju Bank; Noh Ik-ho, deputy president of Jeonbuk Bank; Yang In-seok, head of the financial business division at Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation; Lee Hwan-seok, executive vice president of Korea Housing Finance Corporation; Kim Seong-eun, chairman of the Korea Housing Builders Association; Kim Tae-han, president of Kyongnam Bank; Noh Hae-dong, managing director of Busan Bank; Shin Seong-u, assistant deputy president of iM Bank; and Kim Ho-dae, deputy president of Jeju Bank. [Korea Housing Builders Association]

The Korea Housing Builders Association signed a mutual cooperation MOU Thursday at Kyongnam Bank's headquarters with six regional banks — Kyongnam Bank, Jeonbuk Bank, Gwangju Bank, Jeju Bank, iM Bank and Busan Bank — as well as guarantee agencies Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation and Korea Housing Finance Corporation, aimed at promoting balanced regional development and addressing the threat of rural depopulation.

The agreement was designed to ease deepening regional depopulation and economic polarization while building a virtuous cycle between the housing construction industry and local finance.

The four core areas of cooperation are: improving financial access for small and midsize regional housing developers and creating a financing and guarantee environment for stable project execution; establishing a coordinated financial support framework linking regional banks and guarantee agencies; building a private-sector-led cooperation network to ease polarization and strengthen local self-sufficiency; and identifying financing and guarantee measures to help the next generation settle in their regions and achieve housing stability. Each institution agreed to take on defined roles toward these shared goals.

The association said it plans to lead efforts to encourage member companies to participate in regional finance by banking with and depositing funds at local banks. It also committed to actively identifying high-quality project sites to help local capital circulate within its own region.

Regional banks across the country, in turn, agreed to provide flexible and swift financing to small and midsize local housing developers and to continue offering tailored financial support to help younger generations achieve housing stability.

Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation and Korea Housing Finance Corporation said they plan to support the recovery of regional housing markets by conducting research into the development of customized public guarantee products optimized for local housing market conditions.

"This MOU will serve as a foundation for providing more flexible financing and tailored guarantees to small and midsize housing developers who have been struggling to secure funding," Korea Housing Builders Association Chairman Kim Seong-eun said. "The association will continue to lead private-sector cooperation and do its utmost to build a solid financial and guarantee safety net for our member companies."

Meanwhile, the Korea Housing Builders Association has been making sustained efforts to revitalize regional construction activity. On Sept. 9, it hosted a forum at the National Assembly members' office building titled "What is the solution to the regional real estate market mired in unsold units?"


hope@heraldcorp.com