Specialized Departments
IBK Economic Research Institute
The IBK Economic Research Institute forecasts domestic and international economic conditions and the business climate for SMEs, analyzes changes in the banking industry's management environment, and supports the establishment of management strategies and sector-specific business plans for IBK. It also conducts economic outlook lectures for employees to enhance strategic decision-making capabilities and contributes to improving customer consultation skills.
Providing Strategic Direction through Timely Research and Studies
The IBK Economic Research Institute conducts various studies to enhance responsiveness to changes in the financial market and economic environment. For example, the institute analyzes major economic issues through studies such as "Causes and Concerns Regarding Changes in Korea-China and Korea-U.S. Trade Structures" and "Economic Policy Changes and Impact Forecast in the Event of Trump's Victory in the U.S. Presidential Election." Moreover, the institute suggests strategic directions for the financial industry through works like "Growth of Domestic Family Offices and Implications for IBK" and "Shrinkonomics Era: The Future of Banking." The institute also continuously monitors the volatility of the global financial market, conducting studies such as "Development Patterns of the Global Four Major Geopolitical Risks After the U.S. Presidential Election" and "Prospects for Korea-U.S. Monetary Policy Shifts" to comprehensively assess their impact on the financial market from multiple perspectives.
Providing Information to Support Sales Field and Headquarters Departments
The IBK Economic Research Institute promptly provides the latest economic and financial issues to support the operations of sales fields and headquarters departments. The institute publishes reports such as "Korean Peninsula Sketch: North," "Economic News Behind," "Virtual Assets Made Easy," "Economic Brief," "Key Point Economics and Finance," and "Book of the Month," analyzing information in various fields such as international politics, economy, culture, and IT to support decision-making in practical departments.
Promoting Sustainable Finance for SMEs through OECD and Global Research Collaboration
IBK served as a co-chair of the OECD Platform on Financing SMEs for Sustainability in 2022, collaborating with major policy banks—such as those in the UK and Canada—to lead the promotion of green transition and sustainable finance for SMEs. In 2024, IBK participated in the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (G20 SFWG) policy report, working on the standardization of ESG disclosure and reporting criteria for SMEs and conducting research on sustainable finance. IBK also presented its cases of sustainable finance and ESG support at OECD-hosted international events, further strengthening its position as a global ESG-leading bank.
Additionally, the Montreal Group, a global SME finance consortium, selected IBK as a joint research institution, and published the report "Unlocking the Decarbonization of SMEs" including IBK’s cases. IBK plans to continue expanding joint research with international organizations and further strengthen its global network to promote green transition and sustainable finance for SMEs.
Policy Research and Provision of Basic Statistics through the Survey on the Financial Conditions of SMEs
As a specialized policy financial institution for SMEs, IBK has been publishing the "Survey on the Financial Conditions of SMEs," which analyzes the funding and operational status of domestic SMEs, annually since 2015. In 2024, the publication period was shortened by three months to facilitate the more rapid establishment of financial policies, thereby deepening policy research aimed at improving financial accessibility and enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs. IBK plans to enhance the credibility of SME policy research through continuous research and data analysis, and strengthen its role in providing foundational data to academia and policy institutions.
Chief Information Security Officer
IBK is committed to proactively responding to cyber threats by continuously enhancing its financial security capabilities, providing secure financial services, and protecting customer information.
Enhancing Cyber Threat Response Capabilities and Preventing Security Incidents
IBK operates a 24/7 security monitoring system, achieving a 13-year record of zero incidents. The bank has proactively responded to the increasing threat of cyber attacks deriving from global instability. Additionally, the bank has strengthened its public website hacking prevention system and regularized unexpected malicious email response training continuously to improve the security incident response capabilities of its employees.
To enhance the security awareness of IT outsourcing staff, IBK has produced its own security training videos and broadcasted them through the TV at the development office, striving to create a safe development environment.
Providing a Secure Financial Environment through a Robust Information Protection Management System
Along with its expanding digital finance services, IBK has provided close support for the security review of digital businesses and established a vulnerability assessment system to prevent open-source security threats, creating a secure digital environment.
Additionally, the bank has conducted high-risk business site and thematic inspections to improve the security inspection system and established an information protection control system to enhance user behavior analysis and anomaly detection capabilities.
Enhancing the Level of Personal Information Management for Secure Customer Information Utilization
IBK has received an S grade (highest) for four consecutive years in the Financial Services Commission's regular evaluation of personal credit information utilization and management. The bank has maintained international certifications related to information protection and personal information protection (ISO 27001) as well as domestic certifications (ISMS, ISMS-P).
To enhance customer information protection, IBK has implemented the Credit Transaction Safe Blocking Service and conducting Mock Training for Personal Information Leakage regularly to prevent information leakage and identity theft. Additionally, the bank continuously performs adequacy checks on Personal Information Consent Forms, abolishes unnecessary consent forms, and implements improvement measures to further enhance the safety of personal information usage.
Internal Audit Dept.
IBK continuously improves its audit and inspection systems to prevent financial incidents and strengthen internal controls, striving to create a more trustworthy financial environment.
Expansion of Audits for the Prevention of Financial Incidents
IBK has expanded audits of branches and headquarters departments to prevent financial accidents and strengthen internal controls. To prevent embezzlement incidents, IBK restored the comprehensive branch audits to pre-COVID-19 levels in 2024, conducting them 83 times annually. The bank also strengthened audits related to the management of donations and contributions, training system operations, and internal control-related tasks through management audits of headquarters departments. Additionally, the bank conducted proactive audits to prevent incidents related to real estate project financing (PF) and financial investment products, thereby enhancing its financial incident prevention capabilities.
Improvement of Risk Transaction Pattern Inspection System
IBK operates a Risk Transaction Pattern Inspection system to strengthen the inspection of high-risk transactions. The bank has introduced a system that quantifies the patterns of risky transactions by analyzing embezzlement cases over the past 10 years, thereby establishing a bidirectional inspection system between branches and the Audit Department.
The bank has added items with a high likelihood of incidents among the main tasks of branches to the inspection targets, promoting the digitization of audit tasks and strengthening the capability to prevent financial incidents. As of the end of October 2024, IBK completed 15,034 inspections, based on which it has continuously improved its internal control system.
Conducting Surprise Cross-Audit and Special Inspection
IBK has conducted surprise cross-audits on 597 branches to strengthen internal controls. These audits led to establishing a system where nearby branch managers check each other’s cash and important documents, enhancing the effectiveness of the audits. From 2024, the timing of audits has been distributed between the first and second half of the year to further enhance the unpredictability of audits. Additionally, to prevent embezzlement incidents, IBK has conducted a special cash inspection across all branches, and disseminated detailed inspection guidelines to allow supervisors to regularly check cash to prevent the recurrence of similar financial incidents.
Implementation of Branch Incident Prevention Training
IBK has significantly strengthened employee training for the prevention of financial incidents. Inspectors visited 200 nationwide branches to educate on financial incident cases and audit findings by task. Also, the bank maximized the effectiveness of training by converting existing non-face-to-face education into face-to-face methods. Additionally, the bank conducted customized financial incident prevention training by rank, including Pre-CEO, level 3 and 4 managers, and new employees, educating a total of 1,462 employees on key precautions to prevent financial incidents. In particular, to prevent types of financial incidents such as embezzlement and private monetary transactions, IBK has continuously promoted incident prevention activities by notifying all employees of prevention advisories a total of three times.
Value Management Dept.
IBK has performed various roles such as spreading a culture of challenge and innovation, supporting communication management, improving organizational culture, and conducting on-site monitoring and inspection. Through this, IBK is leading changes within the bank and taking the lead in creating an organizational culture where members can work with pride.
Full-scale Promotion of Challenge & Innovation RISE IBK
IBK has actively promoted Challenge & Innovation RISE IBK to foster a spirit of challenge and innovation among its members and enhance organizational vitality. This project consists of three key focus areas: strengthening communication, building a smart work environment, and restoring challenge and passion, with 12 tasks in total. In 2024, 10 tasks are set to be completed, while two tasks requiring mid- to long-term system development are targeted for implementation in the first half of 2025.
Activation of CEO Communication Management
IBK has strengthened the CEO's communication management to directly listen to voices from the field and enhance communication with employees. To this end, the CEO has visited remote and underperforming branches in person as well as outstanding branches to listen to employees' concerns and is operating various programs to promote communication within the organization.
In 2024, a total of 21 on-site visits were conducted, visiting 50 branches, interviewing 708 employees, and visiting 5 companies to directly gather opinions from the field. Additionally, the Thematic Communication Program was operated 9 times to encourage voluntary participation from employees, strengthening the bond between management and employees and ensuring that diverse opinions are reflected in management decision-making.
IBK plans to continue expanding field-oriented communication management to actively reflect employees' opinions and create a better organizational culture and work environment.
CEO Communication Management: On-site Meetings
Organizational Culture Innovation and Job Value Enhancement
IBK continues to enhance the growth and pride of IBK members through ongoing innovation and organizational culture improvement, fostering a more vibrant corporate culture.
To innovate organizational culture, IBK has published leadership and followership guidebooks to help all employees internalize the correct organizational culture and work practices. Additionally, IBK analyzes areas needing improvement through organizational culture diagnostics and conduct organizational culture campaigns reflecting these insights. In 2024, IBK produced and distributed video content highlighting the daily lives of IBK People from the perspectives of “Customer, Colleague, Family, and Past Self,” and launched the Job Value Enhancement Campaign to boost employees’ sense of purpose in their work and pride in the organization.