Hana Bank will become the first financial institution in Korea to develop and deploy a generative artificial intelligence-based corporate loan screening system. The adoption of AI in loan screening is expected to improve operational efficiency, enabling more on-site visits and in-depth analysis for lending decisions. Industry observers say Hana Bank's AI adoption could serve as a new catalyst for productive finance.
According to financial industry sources on Sunday, Hana Bank will apply generative AI technology to corporate loan screening operations at select branches starting January next year.
The core of the new system is enabling AI to automatically draft corporate loan screening opinions. The AI collects and analyzes internal and external bank data based on companies' business reports, audit reports, and financial statements. It also considers overall industry conditions and the characteristics and structure of loans when drafting opinions. Bank staff will then conduct additional reviews and screenings based on these drafts before executing loans.
With AI drafting initial opinions, the workload of loan officers and other bank employees is expected to decrease significantly. Both inside and outside Hana Bank, expectations are that workloads will be reduced by 30%. Typically, drafting screening opinions takes approximately 3 to 15 days. "Among corporate loan operations, drafting screening opinions requires the highest expertise and the most time," a Hana Financial official said. "Automating screening opinions with AI is expected to dramatically improve operational efficiency."
The technology is the result of combining capabilities across the group, including Hana Bank, Hana Financial TI, and Hana Institute of Technology. Hana Financial Group has operated the Hana Institute of Technology, the industry's first dedicated AI research and development organization, since 2018.
Corporate loan officers plan to increase on-site visits as their workload decreases. This will enable more accurate assessment of non-quantitative factors about companies, improving the quality of screenings. Hana Bank plans to pilot the system at select branches in January next year and roll it out to branches nationwide in the first half of next year. In the second half of next year, the bank plans to further strengthen AI loan screening through system upgrades.
Using the AI corporate loan screening system development as an opportunity, Hana Bank also conducted productive finance training for field staff. The bank shared information on the background and necessity of productive finance, government support measures for productive finance, and the group's medium- to long-term direction with approximately 300 relationship managers and working-level staff nationwide.
Hana Financial plans to continue bimonthly training next year to lead productive finance within the banking industry. Earlier, Hana Financial Group launched an "Economic Growth Strategy Task Force" and announced the "Hana Growth for All Project," which will invest 100 trillion won over five years through 2030 for a major transition to productive finance and expansion of inclusive finance. "With the government accelerating productive finance support through the National Growth Fund, Hana Bank will play a leading role," a Hana Bank official said. "We will accelerate efforts to ensure funds flow in a direction that supports real economic activity and expands production and employment."
