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Shieh has a lot to prove, analysts say

Steve Shieh (謝壽夫) has spent the past 10 years in Taishin Commer-cial Bank (台新銀行) developing the lender's consumer-banking business, but he only began to gain media spotlight when he was appointed to chair First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) Thursday.

Though he is not well-known in the financial circle, Shieh is recognized as a professional manager capable of leading First Financial to develop consumer banking, analysts said yesterday.

"First Financial should aim for the niche market as a retail bank since there's limited room for local banks to profit from corporate banking business," said Michael Lan (藍文彥), an analyst at SinoPac Securities Corp (建華證券).

On Thursday the ministry announced the appointment of Shieh as a replacment for Jerome Chen (陳建隆), who quit Wednesday.

Expressing a neutral view toward the financial holding company's chairmanship reshuffle, Lan said that First Financial has established a clear-cut operational blueprint under former chairman Chen's three-year leadership.

Shieh's performance at the parent of the nation's fourth-largest bank by assets remains to be seen, Lan added.

Shares of First Financial yesterday dropped by NT$0.3, or 1.6 percent, to close at NT$19.

Expressing similar views, Hsieh Chin-ho (謝金河), president of the Chinese-language business magazine Win-Win Weekly, said that Shieh appeared to be a competent banker with 22 years of financial experience.

Over the past decade, Shieh has also helped the Taishin bank -- which became part of the Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) in June last year -- grab a sizeable share of the sector's credit-card market, Hsieh said.

Shieh is said to have been the mastermind behind Taishin Financial's strategy of targeting female credit-card holders by coming up with a resonant catchphrase: "The more serious women are, the prettier they are."

Shieh's previous banking expertise with privately-run commercial banks is sure to contribute to his ability to manage the state-run First Financial, Hsieh added.

At a hand-over ceremony held yesterday at First Financial's headquarters in downtown Taipei, Shieh addressed the importance of teamwork under his future leadership.

"I was appointed because I am a professional banker who remembers his roots and I bear no political burdens," Shieh told a press conference after the ceremony.

But the new chairman may need more time to familiarize himself with First Financial's management. He must also recruit a suitable president to fill the vacancy left by Ray Dawn (董瑞彬).

"The 64-year-old Shieh should soon recruit a younger candidate with complimentary expertise in corporate finance to fill the presidency," Hsieh said.

At the press conference, Shieh was asked whether First Financial and Taishin Financial might undertake a merger plan in the future, but he flatly denied the speculation.

"It wouldn't be an easy task. There is no such plan," he said.

Althogh many commentators asserted that Jerome Chen's proximity to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had won him the position, Shieh yesterday shrugged off any concern that politics would continue to play a role in the financial company's management.

"Business is business, and should be separated from politics," Shieh said, "I will try to reduce cronyism once I take office."

But Hsieh said the new chairman's goal to shake off political intervention in the bank is impractical since

"Shieh was appointed by the Ministry of Finance, which means that the government is still his biggest boss," he said.

Hsieh said that historically most state-run banks have served political purposes, facilitating sweetheart loans to government-favored businesses, leadiong to high non-performing loan ratios among state-run banks.

As Jerome Chen had previously boasted of completing the bank's internationalization plan in the near future, doubts were cast yesterday whether Shieh is capable of leading the bank to branch into international markets.

But Lan yesterday said that the internationalization plan remains to be a long-term goal, which is currently irrelevant to Shieh's abilities.

"The imminent priority for First Financial is to launch innovative products, improve financial transparency and enhance its cross-selling capabilities," Lan said.
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