Chang Hwa tops bad debts list

State-controlled Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行) incurred the highest amount of bad debts among the nation's lenders that were stricken by the recent defaulted loans crisis, according to data disclosed yesterday.

The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced on March 1 that all banks were required to publicly identify customers who have defaulted on loans exceeding NT$100 million (US$3 million) as of last June on their Web sites yesterday.

The total amount of bad debts was NT$370 billion (US$11.2 billion) defaulted by no more than 1,500 accounts shared by 42 local banks and 33 foreign lenders in Taiwan, the FSC said.

Chang Hwa posted bad debts amounting to NT$52 billion defaulted by 183 debtors as of last June, making it the bank with the worst record for bad loans.

It is followed by state-controlled Mega International Commercial Bank's (兆豐國際商銀) NT$33 billion from 103 accounts, and the state-run Bank of Taiwan's (台灣銀行) NT$32.1 billion from 98 accounts, the figures showed.

Most state-controlled lenders incurred defaulted loans exceeding NT$10 billion, including Taiwan Cooperative Bank's (合作金庫銀行) NT$30 billion and Taiwan Business Bank's (臺灣企銀) NT$22.7 billion, the data showed.

Mega International's figures were a combination of its predecessors, China International Commercial Bank (中國國際商銀) and Chiao Tung Bank (交通銀行), which merged last year.

"The disclosure was made in response to public opinion against malicious bad debtors," said Jong Huey-jen (鍾慧貞), deputy director-general of the Banking Bureau.

For companies or individuals, the disclosure by the banks showed that Chinese Automobile Co (國產汽車) reported a NT$6.778 billion bad loan, while its heads Chang Chao-hsiang (張朝翔) and Chang Chao-liang (張朝喨) reported NT$1.165 billion and NT$286 million in bad loans respectively.

These debts also included bad debts of NT$7.35 billion at An Feng Steel (安鋒鋼鐵), NT$4.899 billion at Chen An Steel (振安鋼鐵) and NT$3.957 billion at Feng An Metal Co (峰安金屬). All were owned by former Kaohsiung City councilor Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄).

Ever Fortune Industrial Co (長億實業) has NT$7.97 billion in bad loans, while Yue-Mei International Development Corp (月眉國際開發) has NT$5.81 billion. The former chairman of the Tuntex Group (東帝士集團) Chen You-hao (陳由豪) has bad loans totaling NT$1.05 billion.

Some of the management or people in charge of debt-ridden firms, such as Chu

and Chen, are on the run abroad.

The disclosure would spark public condemnation of these people, FSC chairman

Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正) said earlier yesterday.

The government will try to resort to “other measures” to bring them to

justice, Hu said without further elaborating.