A Korean Bank has broken new ground on what is acceptable as collateral, by offering loans backed up by the value of internet domains which it is treating as real estate properties in cyber space. The Industrial Bank of Korea, in conjunction with domain name registration service provider Internet Plaza City, has appointed an eight-member domain appraisal group composed of businessmen, domain operators, certified public accountants, lawyers and professors.
Small and medium-sized businesses with ‘.com’ domains and homepages are eligible for loans of up to 30 million won from the bank. Small venture firms will be the primary customers, said an official. The program will be gradually expanded to cover ‘.net’ and ‘co.kr’ domains by next July, he said. It is the first time internet domains are being appraised for monetary value, and is an expression of our faith in the commercial viability of e-commerce, he added.
