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Union Bank plans to open new branches

Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行) said yesterday that it plans to open as many as 13 new branches across the nation this year.

The new branches would be located mainly in the Greater Taipei area, including the Nangang District and Xinyi District in Taipei City, as well as Banciao (板橋), Sinjhuang (新莊), Yonghe (永和) and Jhonghe (中和) in Taipei County, to enhance its presence in the north of the nation, Union Bank's president Lee Shian-chang (李憲章) said.

The bank spent NT$7.1 billion to acquire the debt-ridden Chung Shing Bank (中興銀行) in December. The buyout helped the bank double its number of branches to 87, the largest number of branches of any private bank in the country, with the exception of financial holding companies' banking arms.

The buyout gave Union Bank the opportunity to gain access to new branches after the nation's financial authorities decided not to allow banks to open new branches this year in a bid to facilitate the consolidation of the sector.

However, Union Bank is not interested in transforming itself into a financial holding company or acquiring such firms for expansion, the bank's senior executive vice president Lee Hao-sen (李浩森) said.

He predicted that the number of financial holding companies could be reduced to four or five players from the current 14 as a result of the government's consolidation program.
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