State-run Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co (合庫金控) aims to increase its loan books by between 5 and 6 percent this year as the conglomerate seeks to bolster its ties with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), chairman Jason Liao (廖燦昌) said yesterday.
The strategy paid off last year, during which its main subsidiary, Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行), outperformed its peers in terms of SME loan growth, which increased by NT$38.6 billion (US$1.15 billion), faster than Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) and CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控), company data showed.
The shift in focus also helped Taiwan Cooperative Financial to post a net income of NT$13.47 billion last year, an increase of nearly 30 percent over the previous year and translated into NT$1.22 earnings per share, the data showed.
“There is still ample room to enlarge our customer base” after reaching 7 million accounts, Liao told a news conference in Taipei.
SME operations generate a higher interest margin, although they carry higher default risks compared with customers with a large amount of capital, he said.
Net interest margin stood at 1.36 percent late last year and is likely to drop this year as the central bank may cut interest rates to support economic growth, Taiwan Cooperative Financial spokesman David Hu (胡光華) said.
The loose monetary environment and a tepid economy suggest difficult operating conditions for financial institutions, but Taiwan Cooperative Financial still expects to see profit growth, Hu said.
However, an interest rate cut of 12.5 basis points by the central bank might lower net income by NT$500 million, Hu said.
The conglomerate is seeking to boost growth by tapping the retirement market, raising profit contributions from overseas branches and adjusting its loan books, Hu said.
Taiwan Cooperative Bank has handled 30 “reverse mortgage” transactions in which homeowners borrow money against the value of their home, Liao said.
The government has encouraged the use of reverse mortgages to help mitigate social welfare burdens and prevent financial disputes between the elderly and their children.
Closing 11 unprofitable branches last year also helped the bank boost profits by saving between NT$50 million and NT$60 million in annual operating costs, Hu said.
Taiwan Cooperative Bank now has 270 branches, down from its peak of 312.
Overseas operations generated 26 percent of overall profits last year, lower than the goal of 35 percent, Hu said.
Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co has set a target of 35 percent this year, he said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS