Case study: How JB Financial Group identifies and works on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

JB Financial Group places co-prosperity and harmony with diverse stakeholders at the core of its overall management approach. The Group has been deeply engaged with these stakeholders and operates a structured response system guided by its “Principles for Stakeholder Communication and Response,” which are outlined as follows:

1. Sustainability: JB Financial Group aims to achieve sustainable profits for the company in partnership with stakeholders such as local communities, customers, employees, and long-term shareholders.
2. Ethics: The Group emphasizes the importance of universal ethical standards in all its actions.
3. Fairness: JB Financial Group strives to make fair and balanced decisions without favouritism toward any specific stakeholder.
4. Transparency: The Group commits to transparently disclosing the basis for decisions related to stakeholder concerns.

JB Financial Group considers customers, employees, shareholders and investors, local communities, and supervisory authorities as its key stakeholders, recognizing that these groups mutually influence one another. The Group engages with them through diverse channels on a broad spectrum of issues impacting overall management, including environmental, social, and economic matters. Annually, stakeholder surveys are conducted to identify material issues. Moving forward, JB Financial Group aims to enhance its engagement by expanding more effective communication channels to better gather feedback and insights from stakeholders, while also identifying their primary concerns. The communication channels for key stakeholders are as follows:

1. Customers: Website, customer call centre, customer satisfaction surveys, customer experience groups, social media platforms, financial consumer protection education programs, Leaders Forum (VIP customers)
2. Executives and employees: Intranet, bulletin board announcements, corporate culture enhancement initiatives, CEO engagement programs
3. Shareholders and investors: Website, board meetings, general shareholders’ meetings, shareholder communication letters, international conferences, investor relations (IR) activities
4. Local communities: Website, employee volunteer groups, social contribution activity reports, university student ambassadors, social media channels
5. Regulatory authorities: Participation in regular meetings, submission of periodic reports, routine and ad hoc inspections

How did JB Financial Group identify and work on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts?

In its 2025 PRB Reporting and Self-Assessment Template JB Financial Group reports that it identified and worked on strategic business opportunities to increase positive and reduce negative impacts as follows:

Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank are actively supporting the growth of the renewable energy market by introducing specialized RE100 financial products tailored for solar power producers with power purchase agreements (PPAs) with private renewable energy suppliers. Jeonbuk Bank offers financing through its existing “JB Green Biz Loan,” while Kwangju Bank has launched the “RE100 SOLAR-LOAN,” a dedicated facility funding program for solar projects under private PPA arrangements. Traditionally, collateral-based loans were limited to projects with Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) agreements, which hindered broader PPA adoption. These new financial products serve as effective tools to facilitate greater participation in the private renewable energy sector. Notably, Kwangju Bank’s RE100 SOLARLOAN is the first of its kind in the domestic banking industry, specifically designed for solar power generators involved in direct power transactions. This product targets power generation companies that have signed contracts with private renewable energy suppliers. Loans are structured based on annual cash flow estimates derived from the contractual power transaction unit price (KRW/kWh), with preferential interest rates offered to qualifying projects.

The most notable ESG finance products offered by each bank within JB Financial Group are as follows:

1. JB Green Biz Loan (Jeonbuk Bank)

• Eligible Borrowers: Companies operating in the green energy sector, manufacturers of eco-friendly products (including high-quality recycled goods), entities that have entered into agreements to purchase green products, firms backed by guarantees related to new growth engines under the ‘Special Business Agreements’ with the Credit Guarantee Fund and Korea Technology Finance Corporation, and companies that score 60 points or higher on the ‘Eco-Friendly Excellent Company Evaluation Checklist.’
• Loan Limit: Calculated through individual assessments that take into account the company’s credit rating, collateral ratio, and other relevant factors.
• Loan Term: Up to 5 years for working capital, up to 10 years for facility capital, and up to 15 years for solar power facilities, including a grace period of up to 3 years.
• Loan Amount: KRW 904.1 billion (as of the end of 2024).

2. ESG Support Loan (Kwangju Bank)

• Eligible Borrowers: Companies involved in renewable energy, manufacturers or distributors of eco-friendly products with at least three years of operational history, firms with permits and registrations for waste recycling, businesses seeking working capital for eco-friendly purchases, companies certified under environmental agreements, social enterprises, exemplary taxpayers or companies led by exemplary taxpayers, businesses with over 50% mandatory employment of persons with disabilities, and companies with more than 10 regular employees and a staff turnover rate below 10% over the past two years.
• Loan Limit: Determined through individual assessments considering the company’s credit rating, collateral ratio, and other factors, after deducting existing loans from Kwangju Bank and other financial institutions.
• Loan Term: Lump-sum repayment within 1 year, or up to 10 years including extensions; equal installment principal repayments over 10 years, with a grace period of up to one-third of the contract term if the loan exceeds 3 years.
• Loan Amount: KRW 2.3 billion (as of the end of 2024).

3. RE100 SOLAR-LOAN (Kwangju Bank)

• Eligible Borrowers: Power generation companies that have entered into agreements with private renewable energy suppliers.
• Loan Limit: Determined based on the company’s annual cash flow, taking into account the contracted power transaction unit price (KRW/kWh) and other relevant factors.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

FBRH Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Assurance:

First class PRB assurance services: The result of solid, hands-on ESG/ Sustainability experience

• • • FBRH is a GRI Certified Training Partner (Global), ISEP Training Centre and a member of CPD.
    • FBRH builds trust. Over 200 reviews from top professionals from around the world demonstrate our ability to build strong, trusting business relationships.
    • FBRH possesses a unique skill set that combines ESG/sustainability certified training, experience in advisory services and report preparation, and ESG/sustainability report assurance.

The combination of all the above empowers FBRH to provide first class Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) assurance services.

References:

This case study is based on published information by JB Financial Group, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www.jbfg.com/assets/download/pages/esg/achievements/JB Financial Group PRB Report(2025).pdf

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