O-Bank Co Ltd (王道商業銀行) yesterday outlined its plans to transform itself into a nimble and digitally focused boutique lender as it prepares for its initial public offering (IPO) next month.
The bank is scheduled to have its market debut on May 5 — the first bank listing in Taiwan in 13 years — with an eye to raising NT$225 million (US$7.4 million) in new funds, the bank said.
The company has positioned itself as an asset-light boutique bank that yields higher returns on equity compared with its larger domestic peers, O-Bank president C.Y. Yang (楊錦裕) said at an earnings conference in Taipei.
From 2014 to last year, the bank posted an average ROE of 11.6 percent, besting the industry average of 10.42 percent, Yang said.
During the same period, the company also achieved higher operating efficiencies, which are reflected in its lower non-performing loan ratio of 0.02 percent, compared with the industry average of 0.27 percent, he said
The bank — formerly known as the Industrial Bank of Taiwan (台灣工業銀行) before its transformation into a commercial bank — reported a net income of NT$1.86 billion for last year, up 17 percent from the previous year.
Headquartered in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), the bank has only five branches in Taiwan and one branch in Hong Kong, and is to carve out its own niche by leveraging digital channels, as opposed to larger banks, Yang said.
For corporate lending, the company will focus on special purpose loans in the field of mergers and acquisitions, as well as expanding into overseas markets through its Hong Kong branch, he said.
For the consumer market, the company is aiming to take on the younger demographic who favor mobile banking, offering convenient account setups, credit loan approvals and unlimited cash rewards on purchases, Yang said.
To attract younger consumers, savings accounts bearing a 0.3 percent interest rate may be set up for as little as NT$100, Yang added.
The company plans to launch a new investment advisory service next month, targeting young consumers who are often overlooked by major banks’ wealth management businesses, he said.
The new robot-powered advisory service, which will provide investment recommendations generated by software, not human financial advisers, will start with a three-month pilot program, he said.
O-Bank said it would cover investment losses from its robo-advisory services — but limited to NT$1,000 — and once the service is officially launched, consumers can participate with small amounts under its advisory management.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS