Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), which owns the nation’s biggest credit card issuer, posted a NT$7.52 billion (US$235.9 million) net profit in the first half of the year, up more than 20 times from NT$353 million for the same period last year, as the firm emerged further from the global financial crisis, company officials told an investors’ conference yesterday.
Net profit amounted to NT$3.756 billion in the second quarter, down 0.1 percent from NT$3.759 billion from the first quarter, the company’s statistics showed.
The figures translated into moderate earnings of NT$0.75 per share from January to June, and the company did not expect aggressive growth in the second half given the uncertain economic outlook worldwide, company officials said.
“The central bank is likely to raise benchmark interest rates by another 12.5 basis points later this year, but the move may not widen the interest spread much,” Chinatrust Financial president Daniel Wu (吳一揆) said.
Net interest income picked up 9.5 percent year-on-year to NT$6.06 billion in the second quarter, the company said in a statement. That marked a 2.9 percent gain from the first quarter. Chinatrust Financial expects the net interest margin to edge up to 1.5 percent in the second half, from the current 1.47 percent, the statement said.
Fee income slipped 4.5 percent to NT$6.12 billion in the second quarter from NT$6.40 billion in the first three months because of Europe’s fiscal debt woes, Wu said. Fee income, however, grew 16 percent on a yearly basis, he said.
Wu said Chinatrust Financial had filed an application on July 13 with the Financial Supervisory Commission on its planned expansion in China. He declined to elaborate on the plan, except to say that the company will focus on capital financing there.
“The market promises huge business opportunities and we will take advantage of our close ties with Chinese banks in exploring the market,” Wu said.
Wu also said Chinatrust Financial remained interested in a stake in Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) and will make moves if Taiwanese authorities reach a decision to reject the proposed acquisition plan by a Hong Kong consortium.
The consortium, comprising China Strategic Holdings Ltd (中策集團) and Primus Financial Holdings Ltd (博智金融), announced in October last year to acquire Nan Shan from American International Group Inc for US$2.15 billion. However, the deal is still awaiting regulatory approval because of concerns over the consortium’s funding sources and shareholding structure.
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