Two units of the Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) are using legal tricks to avoid paying up to NT$158 million in compensation to victims of embezzlement, a lawmaker said yesterday.
Money was embezzled from depositors six years ago with the possible collusion of bank employees, People First Party Legislator Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠) told a news conference yesterday at the legislature.
The bank, she said, should stand the loss.
"According to the final verdict by the Supreme Court [in September], Fubon bank should return to investors monies amounting to NT$158 million, embezzled from these victims' bank accounts with the possible complicity of bank employees," Chin said.
"However, Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) and Fubon Bank, two affiliates of Fubon Financial Holding, are playing legal tricks to strengthen their negotiating position, which is unfair to those without their financial clout," she said.
In 1996, more than 100 people entrusted four representatives to invest in the stock market through accounts they opened at Fubon Bank and Fubon Securities.
Those stocks, worth NT$120 million, owned by these investors were sold in 1997 by Fubon's brokers without authorization and the proceeds were embezzled from the accounts.
After six years of hearings, the Supreme Court ruled in September that, because its professional negligence infringed depositors' rights and interests, Fubon Bank was liable for returning the money to investors.
While investors were expecting the compensation sometime following the verdict, Fubon Securities in October claimed they were also a victim of the embezzlement and demanded a provisional seizure of the proceeds, Chin said.
Subsequently, Fubon Bank approached the victims and demanded they accept only 60 percent of the money they were owed.
"They simply exploited legal procedures in a bid to bypass their responsibility," Chin said, adding that financial regulators should investigate the case and allow the investors to have their money back as soon as possible.
Authorities including the Securities and Futures Commission (證期會) yesterday said they would conduct an investigation of Fubon Securities and mete out punishment if necessary.
"We have punished the securities brokers by suspending their business for three months," the commission's chief secretary Wu Yui-chun (
Fubon Bank said they will pay the money after proceeds in question are released.
Fubon Securities said they would prepare relevant data and make clarification on this matter to the commission as demanded.
Fubon Securities' senior vice president Kenny Kuo (
A legal expert in securities transaction law said Fubon Securities' actions were lawful but may not be ethical.
"The court must have approved the company's application for a reason," said Brian Hsieh (謝易宏), associate professor at Soochow Law School (東吳法學院). "Such legal actions does win the bank some time and negotiation power in this business."
HSBC Holdings PLC is deepening its commitment to Taiwan as the economy emerges as one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by an artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom, expanding cross-border trade, and rising wealth creation. “The advantage that Taiwan has is a growth story linked to the semiconductor and broader AI industries, strong underlying corporate performance, and wealth creation,” said Surendra Rosha, HSBC’s co-chief executive for Asia and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times on June 2, during this year’s HSBC Taiwan Conference. That combination has helped HSBC cement its position as the most profitable international
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it would work with US chipmaker Intel Corp to jointly develop and deploy next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms in a move to capture booming demand for AI computing systems. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), said in a statement that the partnership would combine its global manufacturing scale, system integration expertise and AI data center deployment capabilities with Intel’s strengths in processor architecture, silicon technologies and software ecosystem. The companies said they plan to work on equipment used in AI data centers, including server racks powered by
The average pay to employees by ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) was the highest among the companies listed on the local main board last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) ranked seventh, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said on Monday. Data compiled by the exchange showed ASE Technology, the world’s largest chip packaging and testing services provider, paid its employees an average of NT$6.28 million (US$199,746) last year, up 40 percent from a year earlier. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and the most profitable company in Taiwan, paid its employees NT$4.09 million on average, up
‘INSANE YEAR’: C.C. Wei said he is confident that Taiwan’s AI supply chain would fend off foreign competition, dismissing concerns South Korea would take over Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said an explosive demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips has led to pervasive supply constraints and it is accelerating capacity expansions to avert bottlenecks. “We are trying not to become the bottleneck. Supply is a little bit tight as customer demand has outstripped what we can supply,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told a news conference after the company’s annual general meeting in Hsinchu City. “Customers have shown incredibly strong demand in recent years. The growth is insane this year, in particular,” Wei said. TSMC is also facing short supply of
RSS