Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) yesterday said its net income in the first quarter more than doubled to NT$5.97 billion (US$189 million) after newly acquired life insurance business returned to the black amid rising investment returns and first-year premiums.
In the same quarter of last year, Fubon Financial made NT$2.44 billion.
Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), which Fubon Financial bought last year from ING Groep NV, had a net income of NT$2.65 billion in the January to March period, compared with losses of NT$241 million a year ago. The life insurance business accounted for the biggest portion, or 44 percent, of the financial service provider’s total net income.
The life insurance unit expanded first-year premiums by 57 percent year-on-year to NT$70.56 billion from NT$45.03 billion, Fubon Financial vice chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興) said in a company statement.
The company also expanded its market share to 25.9 percent, closing the gap on industry leader Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽).
The embedded value of the life insurance business ballooned to NT$128.8 billion as of the end of last year, up 65.7 percent, or NT$51.1 billion, compared with NT$77.7 billion, helped by an increase in net worth and the value of life insurance in force, Tsai said.
Company chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) said banking unit Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) also contributed to the increased first-quarter earnings on the back of a stabilizing net interest margin.
The bank’s net interest margin improved to 0.96 percent last quarter from 0.94 percent in the final quarter of last year, ending three consecutive quarters of decline, the company’s financial statement showed.
Last quarter, Taipei Fubon Bank’s net profits rose 7.4 percent to NT$1.89 billion, from NT$1.76 billion year-on-year, making the banking business Fubon Financial’s second-biggest source of profit.
The bank expanded its loans business by 10.2 percent year-on-year, or 5.8 percent quarter-on-quarter, to NT$889.7 billion last quarter as corporations began increasing their borrowing during the economic recovery.
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