The retail group of Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託銀行) yesterday posted NT$10.55 billion in its annual pre-tax earnings last year, outperforming other players with a historic record in local banking history.
"NT$10 billion is just the beginning," Chinatrust's retail group president Steve Chou (
"But our goal is to double earnings within the next three years, to NT$20 billion by 2006," he said.
To achieve that goal, Chou yesterday vowed to maintain minimum annual growth of 25 percent by raising the group's market share of the consumer banking business.
After grabbing the biggest share of several credit-card business markets, Chinatrust aims to expand its market-share margin against its rivals by seeking strategic partners through product-portfolio mergers and acquisitions, Chou said.
"For example, we'll be interested in acquiring credit-card issuers, which have problems reaping profits after releasing less than 1 million cards," he said, adding that other banks' mortgage loans would be another target of interest for the bank's future acquisition activities.
Chou said that the bank's leading position in credit-card businesses and brandnames would be its main advantage in competing for merger partners in the future while Michael Chang (張智銓), director of the bank's credit-card division, added that the rationalization of operational costs will also be a major consideration.
According to Chou, Chinatrust is the No. 1 credit-card issuer with nearly 6 million cardholders, accounting for a 15.3 percent market share. Chinatrust also secured the largest market share in credit-card spending and revolving balances, with a share of 20.4 percent and 13.3 percent respectively.
Chinatrust, however, lagged behind Land Bank of Taiwan (
Chinatrust will diversify its consumer-lending business to promote car loans, cash cards and micro-loans over mortgage loans, Chou said.
Benny Chen (陳邦仁), deputy president of the bank's retail group, said that the bank had aimed to greatly increase its annual revenues in the cash-advance card business from NT$6.6 billion last year to a projected NT$20 billion this year.
"Chinatrust's risk-based credit policy will pave the way for the bank's steady growth in the cash-advance card business," Chen said.
According to media reports, Chinatrust chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr. (辜仲諒) expressed interest in striking a merger deal with Cosmos Bank Taiwan (萬泰銀行). As of August, Cosmos had the largest market share of the cash-advance card business, with 3.8 million cards in circulation and outstanding debts of NT$145 billion.
Cosmos appears to have little interest in selling its card business, and has not responded to Koo.
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