Although its unaudited book value reportedly turned negative last month, Bowa Bank (寶華銀行) may linger for a while without being taken over by the government anytime soon.
A negative book value conventionally triggers government takeover of troubled banks in Taiwan, and Bowa is one of the three lenders that remain blacklisted by the government on suspicion of having a negative book value.
"We will refer to the audited figures reported by public certified accountants when considering possible action against Bowa," Lin Tung-liang (
Companies usually publish their first-half financial statements by the end of August, commission secretary-general Austin Chan (
However, both Lin and Chan refused to link the timeframe to a takeover of Bowa.
Bowa yesterday approved a plan to raise NT$8 billion (US$244 million) at its annual general meeting as a way to improve its financial structure. The lender said it remained in talks with interested investors.
The bank incurred a deficit of NT$2 billion on net worth of NT$41 billion in the first four months of the year, the bureau's data show.
The commission said it would look into Bowa's sale of its defaulted loan assets.
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