The financial institution to manage the 25 trillion won treasury of the South Jeolla-Gwangju Integrated Special City will be selected Monday.
The city will convene a treasury designation review committee at 2 p.m. Monday at its Muan office to choose operators for the No. 1 treasury account, which covers the general budget, and the No. 2 treasury account, which covers special accounts.
Nonghyup Bank and Gwangju Bank are competing for the contract. Under a temporary arrangement running from July 1 through Dec. 31, Nonghyup Bank currently holds the No. 1 account and Gwangju Bank holds the No. 2 account.
This year's combined budget for the integrated city totals 20.8 trillion won ($15.7 billion) — comprising 8.1 trillion won for Gwangju, broken down into 6.2 trillion won in general accounts and 1.9 trillion won in special accounts, and 12.7 trillion won for South Jeolla Province, split between 10.4 trillion won in general accounts and 2.3 trillion won in special accounts.
Next year's budget is expected to reach 25 trillion won, as the central government has agreed to provide an additional 5 trillion won annually for four years.
Both Nonghyup Bank and Gwangju Bank have applied for the No. 1 account. Whichever institution misses out will be assigned the No. 2 account.
The review committee will evaluate candidates under the Local Accounting Act and Ministry of Interior and Safety guidelines, assessing criteria including internal and external credit ratings, financial stability, lending and deposit interest rates, customer accessibility, treasury management capability, and contributions to the local community.
A recent amendment to the city ordinance added the geographic distribution of a financial institution's branch network across cities, counties and districts as an evaluation criterion — a change seen as favoring Nonghyup Bank, which has a larger branch presence across South Jeolla Province.
The two banks are locked in fierce competition for the No. 1 account, as the winning institution stands to gain significant symbolic value, brand recognition and business opportunities in the newly integrated city.
sij@heraldcorp.com
