Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday said that financial institutions should be prepared for the third round of mutual evaluations by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) next month.
As the clock ticks toward the evaluation, which is to be conducted from Nov. 5 to Nov. 16, there is growing concern which financial institution would be evaluated by the associate member of the Financial Action Task Force.
The commission has submitted a “recommendation list” to APG on which firms should undergo the test, but APG has the right to change it and add any institution it sees fit, Koo said at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee.
“It [APG] will not accept every one we recommend, and it might even add a new name to the list,” Koo said.
Taiwan, one of the founding members of the APG, which was established in 1997, was placed on a watch list in 2011, but removed from the list last year.
The Executive Yuan aims to pass APG’s evaluation this year to boost the nation’s reputation regarding transparency of its financial institutions.
APG assigns different risk levels to members and puts them on different lists, including “regular follow-up,” which is ideal, while “enhanced follow-up” and “major deficiencies” are negative, Banking Bureau Deputy Director Wang Li-chun (王立群) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
Local media reported that APG has changed the commission’s recommendation list and that the modified list includes 10 banks: the state-run Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行), E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), CTBC Bank (中信銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan (渣打台灣銀行), HSBC Bank Taiwan (匯豐台灣商銀), Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行), the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China (中國輸出入銀行), the Agricultural Bank of Taiwan (農業金庫) and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行).
Yuanta Securities Co (元大證券), KGI Securities Co (凱基證券) and SinoPac Securities Corp (永豐金證券) are also included in the tests, along with Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) and Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽保險).
Koo did not verify the list, but said that the Export-Import Bank has no deposit or transfer operations, so it has lower risks.
The commission would not tell APG to change the list, he said.
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