The central bank will become an independent body according to a draft package of amendments to the law governing the bank's organization and operations.
The Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee passed a first reading of the package at a meeting yesterday. The package will be subject to further consultations by ruling and opposition lawmakers before being put up for a second reading.
Once the draft package is passed into law, the central bank will be transformed from a governorship system into a chairmanship system. Moreover, the minister of finance and the minister of economic affairs will no longer be required to be ex-officio members of the bank's board of directors.
The number of board members will also be cut to seven, according to the draft revisions. While the bank's governor and two deputy governors will sit on the board as ex-officio members, the four other members will come from the banking industry and academia.
The revision bill also paves the way for the establishment of a new monetary policy advisory commission. Meanwhile, the central bank will be allowed to set up branches and liaison offices abroad. It will no longer be responsible for regular inspections of domestic banking operations, but it will reserve the right to probe the operations of specific banks on a case-by-case basis.
According to the draft package, the central bank's board members will be nominated by the Cabinet for the president's endorsement. All board members will be banned from taking part in any political activities or political party events during their tenure.
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