FSC chief rekindles debate over banks' business hours

Regulatory chief calls 3:30 p.m. closing ‘too early’; tellers object, citing prolonged pandemic, reduced staff

From left: The headquarters of KB, Shinhan, Hana and Woori banks all located in Seoul (Photos provided by firms)

Even though the government lifted tough social distancing rules last year, local banks are keeping their adjusted business hours, which were shortened to 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 2021.

As this shortened service time has been causing some inconvenience to local banks' clients, South Korea’s top financial regulator urged banks to return to normal business hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.

“Banks can stay in business only through building trust with the clients by responding to their needs,” Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyeon said.

Soon after Kim sent out this message, Korean Financial Industry Union said that it would launch a task force team with Korean Finance Industry Employers Association to start discussing this matter within this week.

However, since many employees are reluctant to return to normal, industry insiders say the banks are not likely to make the change anytime soon.

“Even before deciding to launch the TF team, we have been talking with the union. Obviously, there are some disagreements. We want to return to normal but the key is how we reach an agreement,” a Korea Finance Industry Employers Association official said.

When asked whether the team will also discuss permanently shortening the business hours, both sides told The Korea Herald on Monday that specific topics have not been decided.

“We aim for an open discussion,” a union official said, adding that he is not happy with the FSC chief’s message.

“To be honest, it is not an issue for him to intervene in.”

He added that when adjusting the operation hours in 2021, the union and the lenders implicitly agreed to start the discussion about going back to normal when the government lifts the mask mandate, which has not happened yet.

Regarding this complaint on intervention, an FSC official said "the chief merely expressed his opinion.”

Under current law, there are not any measures that the FSC can take to adjust local commercial banks’ business hours.

Meanwhile, some bank employees expressed their hesitancy to return to normal business hours on Blind, an anonymous workplace community app.

“Along with reducing employees because of digitization, (banks) should also reduce business hours. Otherwise, only tellers will suffer. I think what most people do not know is that we still work after closing at 3:30” a banker wrote on Blind.

Another commenter also said on the app that the last client usually leaves the bank after 4 p.m., even with the current operating hours.

“Restaurants have ‘last order time’ and also local hospitals have a similar policy but banks do not. So if we return to normal, we will have provide service to customers after 4,” the comment said.

Although the issue got more spotlight recently due to the pandemic, banks’ business hours have been a debated issue in Korea for a while.

In 2015, former Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan criticized the local banks' business hours, which ended at 4 p.m. at the time. He claimed that they were too short compared to other banks around the world.

Banks' business hours are still shorter in Korea than in China and the US.

Most banks in Beijing open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the weekend.

Although it differs from branch to branch most banks in New York open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

Branches of all top four Korean commercial banks-- Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank and Hana Bank -- in the US also operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Nonetheless, Japanese banks have similar business hours -- 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- to Korean banks adjusted business hours.

By Song Seung-hyun(ssh@heraldcorp.com)