The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) NT$4 million (US$125,976) for violating rules on sales of yuan-linked target redemption forwards (TRF) to unfit customers.
The commission found that ANZ facilitated TRF sales to unfit customers by helping them meet the criteria for professional investors, which is required for purchasing complex derivative products.
Following volatile movements in the value of the yuan, investors have been left with massive losses from the yuan-linked derivative.
Photo: Reuters
ANZ’s efforts in disclosing assessment risk profiles for clients were inadequate, the commission said, adding that the bank also helped its customers establish offshore accounts and subsidiaries to facilitate TRF sales.
As of 2014, the commission had imposed about NT$76 million in fines on 17 banks. HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) is the only foreign bank that has not been penalized for TRF-related infractions, the commission said.
Separately, the commission also gave the nod to Hotai Motor Co’s (和泰汽車) plan to acquire a 99.73 percent stake in Zurich Insurance (Taiwan) Ltd (蘇黎世產險) for less than NT$6.9 billion.
The commission has set a number of conditions on the deal, which is expected to be completed on Jan. 17.
Hotai, the nation’s leading car dealer, would be required to ensure the long-term sustainable operation of the insurer for at least a decade and its future insurance unit must meet the 300 percent risk-based capital ratio requirement, Insurance Bureau Deputy Directory-General Shih Chiung-hwa (施瓊華) said.
Hotai, which operates Toyota and Lexus dealerships in the nation, first announced its intent to acquire the insurer in June, when it said it hoped to build a 15 percent share of the local car insurance market.
The company has a 32.8 percent hold on the nation’s new car sales, translating to about 12 percent of the local market for auto insurance, Shih said.
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