ANDONG — North Gyeongsang Province will expand its loan support for small business owners to 300 billion won ($208 million) by 2030 and raise its interest subsidy budget to 12 billion won.
The province said on the 12th that it signed an agreement at the provincial government office that day with the Gyeongbuk Credit Guarantee Foundation and five commercial banks to expand the "Gyeongbuk Support Finance" program.
The participating banks are NH NongHyup Bank, iM Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank.
Under the agreement, the province will increase the budget for interest subsidies — which cover 2 percentage points of the loan interest borne by small business owners for two years — to 12 billion won by 2030 from 8 billion won this year.
Loan support will also be expanded in stages to 300 billion won by 2030.
To that end, the five banks and the Gyeongbuk Credit Guarantee Foundation will make special contributions to guarantee funds and help issue guarantee certificates, while the province strengthens the cooperation framework so that more small business owners can benefit.
The agreement comes as high prices, high interest rates and a weak won persist and after the local credit guarantee foundation's re-guarantee ratio was reduced in August. The province expects the measures to support stable business operations and to curb the rise in multiple borrowers, who take out additional high-interest loans to repay existing debt.
"We will devote our efforts to providing a solid financial safety net so that small business owners can focus on their livelihoods and recover their ability to stand on their own," Governor Lee Cheol-woo said.