Korea to boost lending for SMEs

Korea will continue its efforts to encourage banks and other financial institutions to direct more loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a senior financial regulator said Monday.

Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remarks at a regular meeting of the Financial Stability Board, which coordinates at the international level the work of national financial authorities around the world, in Switzerland earlier this week.

The outstanding loans for SMEs in South Korea have been on a steady rise, despite regulatory reforms, Kim told the meeting.

The outstanding loans for SMEs stood at 672 trillion won ($600.5 billion) in 2017, compared with 599 trillion won in 2015 and 512 trillion won in 2013, Kim said.