Even small business owners with limited financial histories will be able to receive bank loans if they are deemed to have high future growth potential based on evaluations of business operator capability, sales, commercial district characteristics, service differentiation, and more.
The Financial Services Commission held the third meeting of the "credit evaluation system reform task force (TF)" on the 9th and released the "plan to introduce a small business credit evaluation system."
The Small business & self-ownership Credit Bureau (SCB) model released by the Financial Services Commission is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based model that evaluates the future growth potential of small businesses by industry using non-financial information such as sales, industry, and commercial districts. Its core is to calculate a small business growth grade (S grade) and reflect it in loan reviews.
S grade evaluations use factors such as sales, commercial district, years in business, number of employees, business operator capability, customer awareness, and industry trends. If growth potential is rated high and a top S grade is received, the credit rating will be adjusted upward, leading to benefits such as loan approvals compared with before, higher limits, and preferential interest rates.
The Financial Services Commission projected that once the SCB takes hold in the financial sector, new loans totaling 10.5 trillion won per year will be supplied to about 700,000 small business owners. It also said an interest rate reduction effect of 84.5 billion won is expected.
The SCB will begin a pilot program with some banks starting in Aug. This coming year's second half, it will pursue building and advancing differentiated SCBs by credit bureaus (CB) and by financial institution based on the pilot results.
The Financial Services Commission decided to gradually review SCB usage performance in the financial sector in 2028 and expand the system to the entire financial sector.
The Financial Services Commission said conservative loan review practices persist, with credit evaluations focusing on the representative's financial history when financial companies assess small business loans. As a result, about 90% of loans to small business owners and sole proprietors are still made as collateral or guaranteed loans.
Lee Eog-weon, chair of the Financial Services Commission, who presided over the meeting, said, "The introduction of the SCB is a starting point toward 'future-oriented finance' that supplies funds centered on data and future growth potential," and added, "We will work to ensure the system can take root quickly in the field."