The central bank announced yesterday that it has appointed the Taipei branch of Mizuho Bank Ltd as the clearing bank for yen transactions in Taiwan.
Japan-based Mizuho Bank will start its yen clearing business for domestic transfers in Taiwan after the central bank adds the currency to the nation’s clearing platform for foreign currencies early next year.
“Mizuho Bank is a significant size in Taiwan ... and it has an advantage in liquidity supply [in yen],” central bank Deputy Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) told a press conference.
Yang said adding yen to the clearing platform would help lower the cost of yen transfers in Taiwan without having to transfer to overseas intermediary banks, which often costs between NT$720 and NT$1,200 a transaction.
Through the nation’s clearing platform for foreign currencies, a remitter only has to pay a fee of NT$80 per transaction, Yang said.
The efficiency of domestic yen transfers — which account for about 12 percent of all transactions in foreign currencies — may also show improvements due to the new measure, he added.
Mizuho Bank is also planning a yen clearing business in Taiwan for overseas transfers, Yang said.
The central bank in February unveiled the plan to select the clearing banks for transactions in yen and euro. It has not appointed the clearing bank for euro transactions.
The latest data show domestic euro transfers account for about 12 percent of all transactions in foreign currencies in Taiwan.
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