Korea Exchange Bank has kicked off emergency relief initiatives to help the Philippines recover from the devastation of typhoon Haiyan.
“We share special ties with the Philippines in terms of economic cooperation and a variety of nongovernmental partnerships. We hope for swift recovery of the afflicted country,” the commercial bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
The death toll from Haiyan has reached about 4,000, according to the national disaster relief agency. About 1,600 nationals are missing, 4 million displaced and more than 18,000 injured.
KEB has lifted the remittance fees and cable charges for all relief funds that are wired through its counters to the Philippines since Nov. 18.
The same fee exemptions are applied to the Filipino laborers in Korea who make wire transfers to their home country. Approximately 25,000 Filipinos work in Korea, about 30 percent of whom remit through KEB, according to the bank’s data.
Besides the fee cuts, KEB is offering payment extensions of up to three months to Korean exporters to the Philippines that have failed to meet the deadline due to the typhoon.
KEB’s Manila branch delivered $235,000 in relief funds to the Philippine Red Cross on Nov. 18.
It is the only Korean bank authorized to operate in the country since opening its first local branch in Manila in 1983. The bank opened its second and latest branch in Clark in September.
