The financial sector, which has been concerned about low birth rates, is expanding welfare to include childcare assistance. Since last year, commercial banks have introduced various benefits related to childbirth, such as childbirth-related congratulatory gifts, educational assistance, and maternity leave, and recently they have also implemented reduced working hours to create a better childcare environment.
According to the banking sector on the 13th, Woori Bank will expand its reduced working hours system for childcare starting next month. Parents of first-grade children who are entering elementary school for the first time will be able to work one hour fewer daily for two months. After that, they can leave work 30 minutes earlier each day for two years. Additionally, a system that allows employees with children under 12 years old to work only five hours a day for one year will also be introduced. Considering a one-hour break, this means they will work only four hours.
This is part of an agreement reached between labor and management through recent wage and collective bargaining negotiations. Shinhan Bank and NH Nonghyup Bank are also preparing to implement a plan that includes reducing the working hours of employees who are parents of younger children by 30 minutes as part of this collective bargaining agreement, and Hana Bank is already implementing a plan that allows employees with children under 9 years old to work four hours a day. In the past, low birth rate measures focused on maternity leave and incentives for childbirth, but now there is a trend to enhance welfare benefits to support parenting after childbirth through reduced working hours.
The banking sector's measures to address low birth rates begin with substantial childbirth incentives. The conditions vary slightly, but the childbirth congratulatory gift from commercial banks can reach up to 20 million won. In addition to a congratulatory payment of 5 million won for the first birth, KB Kookmin Bank pays 20 million won from the third child onward, whereas Hana Bank provides it starting from the fourth child.
The conditional reemployment parental leave is a system unique to the banking sector. Employees who have used their full two years of parental leave can take temporary leave for childcare for three years and return to their previous position. The Korea Federation of Banks launched a public disclosure site on the 6th of last month, allowing comparisons and searches of low birth rate products available in the banking sector. Low birth rate products have differentiated benefits based on the number of children and also offer higher preferential interest rates.
The reason banks pay attention to the low birth rate issue is not merely due to the financial authorities' observations or a simple sense of social responsibility. A low birth rate ultimately leads to population decline, which signifies a decrease in future potential customers for the banking sector. It also negatively affects the real estate-related loans that constitute a substantial part of bank revenue. Generally, housing transactions occur in alignment with the birth and growth of children; however, a low birth rate reduces housing demand and leads to a sluggish real estate market.
In fact, the banking sector is working hard to secure future customers in anticipation of population decline. A recent example is the flood of youth financial services emerging between banks. Youth-exclusive accounts or cards incorporate small payment benefits for convenience stores and Daiso, designed with a monetary limit for safety, and from the banks' perspective, this is to cultivate familiarity with the bank before they become adults and to secure them as future customers.
A representative from a commercial bank said, "The biggest concern of bank employees seems to be benefits related to parenting, which became a central issue in this year's bank labor negotiations," and noted, "Thanks to this, bank employees have a higher birth rate compared to other job sectors, and there are even discussions among unmarried employees or those without children about whether it is better to have children."