Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has said it would fold its Taiwanese subsidiary, ANZ Bank Taiwan, into its local branch to focus on corporate clients, becoming the first foreign bank in Taiwan to dissolve its local subsidiary.
ANZ board of directors approved the move last week, and it is to take effect in April, the bank said.
The five-year-old subsidiary has a working capital of NT$4 billion (US$129.3 million), according to its Web site.
The merger would help ANZ integrate its resources and improve operational efficiency, it said, adding that it would not issue any new shares or change its bylaws.
ANZ in 2013 became the first Australian bank to establish a subsidiary in Taiwan.
However, in 2016, it exited the retail and wealth management businesses, which were last year acquired by DBS Bank (星展銀行).
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday said that it has not received an application from ANZ to dissolve its subsidiary.
An international bank must establish a subsidiary and at least one branch office if it plans to manage retail clients in Taiwan, the commission said.
However, as ANZ has exited the retail business, the commission would not require that the bank keep its subsidiary, it said.
ANZ has exited the retail and wealth management business in five markets — Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong — indicating that it is shifting its focus toward corporate clients, an official said.
In separate news, UBS Taiwan (瑞銀) yesterday said it would not bar its staff from traveling to China after a UBS Group AG employee was detained there.
“We do not have any travel restrictions,” UBS Taiwan spokeswoman Angel Yeung (楊惠卿) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
The bank allows its staff to travel freely in and out of the nation, where it has a strong presence, Yeung said.
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