2006 국정 감사

정무위원회 - 금감위, 금감원 증인신문

◈ Q&A for CEO John Filmeridis, SC First Bank

First of all, I would like to express my regret to ask you to attend this hearing as a witness because you may have busy schedules managing the bank.

However, it seems very important to remove any doubt on SC First Bank.

Through this opportunity, I hope that SC First Bank will carry out much more transparent and localized management.

Due to 15 minute of time constraint in Q&A session for each lawmaker, I ask you to answer as briefly as possible with yes or no, based on the informed questions.

1. leakage of corporate information to overseas

- On 28th of September, I raised an issue that SC First Bank leaked its corporate information to the Bank's headquarters in UK. Are you aware of the issue?

- Through which vehicle did you send the loan application information to SCB? (Email, airmail, or etc.?)

- Such information is not only precious asset of Korean companies but also the nation's asset. On what grounds did you send the information to UK?

- You are a financial expert and there must be many credit experts in the bank. Was it beyond your capacity to decide loan extension?

- What is the cap on loan you can extend as a CEO of SC First Bank without informing SCB?

- According to the provision of SC First Bank, opening a local branch over a certain size requires an agreement from the SCB. Is it available for you, as a CEO of the bank, to open a new branch without informing the SCB? If it is available, what is the standard for the size of a branch?

- In the inspection conducted by the Financial Supervisory Service, the Service pointed out the unreasonable provision requiring the approval from the SCB for major decision. Is this correct?

- As pointed out by the FSS, the SCB head office's intervention in the management of SC First Bank is excessive. Although SC First Bank says that it corrected the provision, the bank uses rather ambiguous expression-"support and assistance" to leave room for future managerial intervention.

- The number of Korean board members is the same as that of foreign members. However, the FSS found that foreigners are taking most of the core positions while Koreans are in rather insignificant position(FSS inspection report).

Do you agree with this?

- If you don't, does it mean that you don't accept the result of the inspection conducted by the Service?

- Then, why did you sign on the approval paper on the inspection?

- Do you think that SC First Bank will be able to realize the localized management it has been seeking?

- Are you willing to correct the provision on authority of board of directors to meet the standard of independent management?

2. Suspicion of selling the SC First Bank to Hana Bank and leaving the nation

- SC First Bank is completely owned by SCB NEA and one of major shareholders of SCB is Temasek Holdings.

- And Temasek Holdings is also one of major shareholders of Hana Bank.

- SC First Bank does not seem to run it business actively in Korea which is leading to poor performance.

- Many in Korea's financial industry are saying that SC First Bank is not willing to expand its business in Korea.

- Because of that, there is a concern that SC First Bank's ultimate goal is to sell the bank to Hana Bank to earn marginal profits. Such concern troubles and worries employees of SC First Bank. What do you think about it?

- Can you confirm that such suspicion on selling First bank to Hana Bank is groundless and your bank will carry out active, independent operation in Korea?

3. Expansion of loans for SMEs

- As was pointed out by the Financial Supervisory Service, since the integration, SC First Bank has never observed the standard for rate of loan for SMEs.

- The bank is criticized for practicing usury with SMEs.

- According to the FSS' inspection, the bank has carried out workout for only 11 SMEs, only one eighth of what other local banks have done(88 companies).

- Furthermore, few companies have survived workout.

- In terms of loans for SMEs, the bank is not of any help to Korea's national economy at all. Would you observe the standard for rate of loans for SMEs?

- Can you write a confirmation to the Financial Supervisory Service as CitiBank did?

- In a survey I conducted of SMEs, SC First Bank was found to be the least cooperative bank with SMEs.

- SC First Bank is promoting a savings account with free accident insurance. However, according to the survey, most SMEs and business owners think of the account as useless.

- What do you think about this?

- If your bank really wants to support SMEs, it is urgently needed to develop low-interest rate loan policies as you offer low interest rates for unsecured personal loans to customers with high income and for mortgage loan. Do you agree with that?

4. Tying arrangement

- The Financial Supervisory Service found that SC First Bank had forced credit loan borrowers to open term deposit accounts. Are you aware of this?

- In my opinion, it is a tying arrangement and unfair transaction.

- I guess you may answer that the plan is intended to support people facing difficulty in getting a loan and is completed with the customer's consent.

- If there is no problem, then why do you think FSS pointed it out?

- In fact, a tying arrangement is to help socially-disadvantaged people who are hard to receive loan not for the ones who would easily get a loan.

- Customers may have agreed to open the term deposit accounts. However, did they really want to open such accounts? They may have agreed only to get a loan.

- If they could receive loans without opening accounts, do you think they want to open them?

- Even though loans are not past due, the bank puts delay charge and additional penalty just because the customer has not paid installments only for two days. Is it fair?

- I urge SC First Bank to return excessive gains of 300 million Korean won to those affected customers. Would you do that?

5. Lack of Social Contribution

- Promoting itself as a leader in social contribution, SC First Bank affirmed its commitment to social contribution in the management proposal at a time of takeover.

- However, according to my investigation, SC First bank has shown the least interest in social contribution among major local banks in Korea. Judging from the bank's asset volume, the bank has the least amount of fund assigned for social contribution.

- Existing funds are mostly for employees' welfare, not social contribution.

- Do you think that your bank still leads the social contribution? Please verify us how your bank will promote social contribution activities in details.