Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday reiterated that bank executives and board members cannot concurrently serve as directors or supervisors at virtual banks, after Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) reportedly protested that it could not appoint its own officials to sit on the board of Next Bank (將來銀行).
Koo said that local and foreign banks with local operations cannot appoint their chairpersons, general managers or ranking managers to sit on the boards of virtual banks in which they invest.
However, financial conglomerates that own the banks could send their directors and general managers to the Web-only banks’ boards, as there is no direct conflict of interest, he said.
Based on Koo’s clarification, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行), which owns a 25.1 percent stake in Line Bank (連線商業銀行), cannot have its chairman or general manager concurrently work as a director or supervisor at the virtual bank.
However, Line Bank’s board could include Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) president Jerry Harn (韓蔚廷).
The commission would only allow lenders’ executives to take a seat on the boards of Web-only banks when there is no concern about conflicts of interest, Koo said.
Local bank managers in charge of sections that are not in direct competition with Web-only banks — such as information security, accounting and finance, and legal compliance — would also be allowed to join the boards of virtual banks, Koo added.
In other words, Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan Ltd (渣打台灣銀行), which has invested in Line Bank, could appoint its chief information security officer to sit on the board of the virtual bank, but not its credit card business executives, Koo said.
Regarding Mega Commercial Bank’s complaint that it could not send executives to join the board of Next Bank, Koo said that Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) could send someone instead.
“We respect Mega Bank’s decisions regardless of whether it is to pull out from its investment. The bank does not need our approval if it wants to exit, but Next Bank will have to apply to us if it is to have new shareholders,” he said.
Japan’s Rakuten Inc, which holds a 51 percent stake in Rakuten International Commercial Bank Co (樂天國際商銀), would be allowed to send directors or managers of its Rakuten Bank to the board of its local unit, as the Japanese bank has no local operations, Koo said.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Standard Chartered Taiwan on March 26 announced that it has partnered with international fintech firm FinIQ to build an “Automated Structured Products Pricing Platform.” The bank is also introducing products from global issuers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Barclays PLC and BNP Paribas SA. The new platform enables an end-to-end process whereby it finds the most competitive pricing across multiple issuers in a matter of minutes, followed by automated documentation and transaction execution, which significantly shortens time-to-market and delivers a superior wealth management experience. Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan CEO Anthony Yu (游天立) said: “Standard Chartered is increasingly leveraging its wealth management
RSS