Financial banking sector is saturated: finance minister

Minister of Finance Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday said that he believes that the existence of 14 financial holding companies in the nation is sufficient to meet market demand.

The pace at which new financial holding companies are established is expected to slow down, he added.

Lin made the remarks yesterday at the legislature in response to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shih-hsiung's (羅世雄) concern that the government has decided not to grant new licenses for financial banks.

Citing media reports, Lo questioned whether the ministry was planning to tighten up regulations or requirements for the establishment of new mega-banks -- since the marketplace is already highly saturated, with 14 financial holding companies.

Lin replied that the question of whether new licenses will be granted depends on the financial sector's development. At the moment, the ministry has no plan to issue new licenses, but it doesn't mean that there won't be any licenses issued in the future, Lin said.

While the ministry expects the financial sector to undertake further consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, the International Bank of Taipei (IBT, 台北商銀) has expressed interest in forming a financial holding company, Chinese-language newspapers said yesterday.

IBT chairman Ho Show-chung (何壽川), who's also chairman of the Yuen Foong Yu Group (永豐餘集團), said the bank is expecting to finalize partners through mergers and acquisitions by the year's end to set up a financial holding company, according to the reports.

IBT, in which the Yuen Foong Yu Group owns a controlling 35 percent stake, is planning to submit an application to the ministry early next year for a financial holding company license, the reports quoted Ho as saying.

IBT public-relations manager Chou Yu-peng (周雲鵬) yesterday confirmed that Ho has twice vowed to facilitate the bank's consolidation plans once at the bank's shareholder meeting in May this year and in April of last year.

Chou said the bank's plan won't be influenced by the ministry's indecisiveness about issuing new licenses.

IBT currently has 86 branches, including two overseas branches in Hong Kong and Macau.

Gary Tseng (曾國烈), the ministry's director-general of the Bur-eau of Monetary Affairs, said last week that the government may consider issuing new licenses if the goal of consolidation is met.