Following data released this week showing that the nation's most troubled banks were getting worse, an industry watcher yesterday urged the government to take action quickly so that they do not become an even greater burden on taxpayers.
"They have become vampire banks, sucking the blood from the government's [coffers]," said Chen Chung-hsing (陳松興), president and CEO of Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評), the local arm of Standard & Poor's.
The latest figures from the central bank, released on Wednesday, show that the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at the end of December at six of the nation's 10 worst-performing banks had risen by between 3 and 10 percentage points from the same period last year.
Chen urged the legislature to hasten the approval of the government's NT$908.6 billion Financial Restructuring Fund (
"The longer the plan is delayed, the more losses the taxpayer will have to cover," Chen said.
At the worst financial institutions, the Ministry of Finance's efforts to reduce bad loans appear to have failed.
Banks where the NPL ratio rose during the past two years include Chung Shing Commercial Bank (中興銀行), from 57.34 percent to 64.53 percent; Kaohsiung Business Bank (高雄企銀), from 33.86 percent to 43.50 percent, and Hualien Business Bank (花蓮企銀), from 27.69 percent to 27.87 percent.
The 10 most-troubled banks had an average NPL ratio of 25.3 percent, up from 24.4 percent in 2001. The slow economic recovery, however, continues to strain banks' ability to generate earnings and deal with their bad loans.
Public funding will be needed to support bank lending and help them alleviate their financial problems, Paul Grela, director of Fitch Ratings' financial institutions in Asia, said yesterday.
After writing off a record NT$410 billion in bad loans, banks reported an average 8.85 percent NPL ratio last year. According to Fitch, the figure may actually be between 12 percent and 15 percent, while Chen estimates the figure to be between 10 percent and 12 percent.
Opposition parties have been accused of stalling the passage of measures to deal with the NPL problem in an attempt to undermine President Chen Shui-bian's (
But PFP Legislator Norman Yin (
Rising defaults on consumer debt, which accounts for 47 percent of all bad loans, may further deteriorate the nation's bad-loan problem this year, Yin said.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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