Chinatrust profit up on higher rates

Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), the nation's sixth-biggest financial services company by assets, said first-quarter profit rose 3.7 percent as it made more from fees and lending after interest rates rose.

Profit rose to NT$4.71 billion (US$150 million), chief financial officer Perry Chang (張明田) said in a telephone interview yesterday, citing an unaudited figure. Profit was NT$4.54 billion a year earlier.

The bank's net interest income rose more than 10 percent in the first quarter, while fee income rose 7 percent, Chang said.

He declined to elaborate.

The company is scheduled to hold an investors conference on Friday to offer more detailed information.

Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託銀行) is the financial holding company's core subsidiary, accounting for about 90 percent of the group's profit, according to Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評).

The group acquired Grand Commercial Bank (萬通銀行) in 2003 and Fengshan Credit Cooperative (鳳山信合社) last year, strengthening its distribution network and improving the market position of its banking business.

Taiwan Ratings said Chinatrust Financial's leading position in the domestic credit card industry and its expanding domestic and overseas corporate banking business continue to support the financial service group's leading position in the banking industry.