Overview of former and current Seoul City Hall offices / Korea Times file

By Yi Whan Woo

KB Kookmin, Shinhan and Woori Banks are competing to run the coffers of the Seoul Metropolitan Government for the next four years, with their commitments to carbon neutrality as well as offline operations newly added to the list of qualifying criteria.

The city government proposed the new criteria amid tougher climate targets and the resulting increase in global finance, such as bonds, loans and equity funds targeting sustainability projects.

The city government also aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In January, it announced plans to cut emissions by 2026 to 3,461 tonnes, a 30% drop from 2005 levels.

It will also assess offline banking, as it wants to ensure that citizens have easy access to paying taxes and financial services through retail banking branches and ATMs.

Such access is seen as crucial, given that many older people struggle to cope with digital banking services that have developed rapidly in response to increased social distancing rules due to the pandemic.

Monday was the deadline for the bidding, and the winning bidder will be announced within the week, according to public relations representatives from the three banks.

Also included in the criteria are bank credit ratings, financial strength, interest rates for loans and deposits, competency as a “custodian”, online banking security and history of community service.

“We consider the newly added criteria in our presentation and the remaining qualification process, while each criteria remains equally important,” a public relations representative told The Korea Times on Tuesday.

Citing the sensitivity of the issue, the banks did not disclose their strategies to highlight green financing and offline banking.

Woori Bank has 344 retail banking branches in Seoul, more than its two closest competitors, according to industry sources.

Shinhan Bank leads in terms of the number of ATMs in the nation’s capital, with 2,094.

KB Kookmin Bank, meanwhile, announced in March that it would extend the opening hours of 72 of its retail banking branches nationwide by an additional two hours to 6 p.m.

Banks are drawn to the marketing effects of becoming the guardian of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, given that its annual budget stands at 47.7 trillion won ($38.6 billion). This figure is the highest among all local governments in the country.

The successful bidder will retain the City’s coffers from 2023 to 2026.

Shinhan Bank has been the caretaker since 2018 after winning the bid against Woori Bank back then.

Previously, Woori Bank was considered the sole guardian of Seoul’s municipalities from the colonial era of the 1910s, when its predecessor managed the budget of the Japanese imperialists ruling the city.

This is the first time that KB Kookmin Bank has joined the offer.