Woori Bank (President Lee Kwang-goo) has signed a Business Cooperation Agreement (BCA) with Standard Bank of South Africa for the first time in the domestic industry. It will operate a “Korean Desk” in the local bank's headquarters by the first half of this year.
The Korean Desk is being set up for co-marketing with the local bank before constructing a network of offices or branches in a new country. With the agreement, Woori Bank will send its employees to the headquarters of Standard Bank in Johannesburg and cooperate with the local employees in marketing and local financial services.
Established in 1862, Standard Bank has a 153-year history as the largest bank by assets in South Africa.
The bank has nearly 42,000 employees and over 1,200 branches in 20 countries in the African Continent. Currently, large businesses such as Samsung, LG, Hanwha, and Hyundai are operating in the distribution, trade, and construction industries in South Africa. Also, POSCO and the Korea Resources Corporation are participating in resources development due to its potential in the energy industry.
An official from the international department at Woori Bank said, “The cooperation with Standard Bank will be a great help for the bank to tap into the African markets in the future, along with the Middle Eastern markets where the bank already entered, such as Dubai and Bahrain.”
Meanwhile, Woori Bank is also running the Korean Desk at IS Bank, the largest local bank in Turkey, and making efforts to expand its business network and strengthen global business by sending regional experts to Poland and Uzbekistan.