Speculation rife about reshuffle at state-run banks

The Presidential Office is planning to reshuffle the top brass of at least five state-run banks, local Chinese-language media reported yesterday.

The banks mentioned were the Land Bank of Taiwan (土銀), Chiao Tung Bank (CTB, 交銀), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行), Taiwan Business Bank (台企銀) and Bank of Taiwan (台銀).

The reshuffle is pending approval from the Cabinet and the Presidential Office, the reports said. However, most of the bank officials whose names were mentioned in the reports claimed yesterday to have no knowledge of a reshuffle.

Land Bank chairman Wei Chi-lin (魏啟林) said that he hasn't been informed of any personnel appointments for his bank.

"The chairman should be the first to know about a reshuffle," Wei said, "but I have heard nothing from top-ranking finance

officials."

Wei added that the bank's pres-ident, Lin Peng-lan (林彭郎), has held the job for more than five years and, as a civil servant, he would certainly accept any new appointment.

Possible replacements for Lin mentioned in the reports include Wang Yao-shing (王耀興), former director-general of the Ministry of Finance's Bureau of Monetary Affairs, and Taiwan Business Bank president Soo Jin-fong (蘇金豐).

Both the president of the Bank of Taiwan -- Lee Sheng-yann (李勝彥) -- and Hua Nan Commercial Bank president Hsu The-nan (許德南) claimed to have no knowledge of a reshuffle and refused to respond requests for comments on the media reports.

"Maybe the reshuffle plan is not mature yet," an unidentified official in Hsu's office said.

The reports also speculated that CTB president Chuang Kuo-wei (莊國維) may take over the chairmanship of the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Corp (中興票券) since its chairman, Wang Le-san (汪樂山), is retiring soon -- while CTB executive vice president Huang Feng-yi (黃豐一) would step into Chuang's job.

The boards of state-run banks are scheduled to hold their annual meetings in June and the government is also thinking of reshuffling the government-appointed board members, according to the reports.

There was also media speculation that such a bank reshuffle is politically motivated -- since the political climate is heating up ahead of next year's presidential election.

The Ministry of Finance refused to comment yesterday on the media speculation.

However, on Monday, Vice Minister of Finance Susan Chang (張秀蓮) said the ministry is planning to relax the requirements for the top management jobs at domestic banks in order to allow entrepeneurs from outside the financial industry to become bank heads. Such a move would help the government make the kind of personnel appointments mentioned in the reports on a reshuffle.