The exposure of Taiwan’s banking, insurance, securities and futures sectors to the EU totaled NT$4.91 trillion (US$162.31 billion) at the end of January, and the situation must be monitored amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday.
Insurance firms had the highest exposure, at NT$3.91 trillion, up 2 percent from a year earlier, the Insurance Bureau told a news conference in New Taipei City.
That was due to their targeting high returns from foreign corporate bonds and real-estate investment in the UK, the commission said.
Banks’ exposure grew 11 percent to NT$926 billion, with an annual increase of 14.5 percent in lending to NT$289.2 billion and a 9.6 percent rise in investment to NT$636.8 billion, commission data showed.
Taiwanese banks have set up 10 units in the region, including six branches in the UK, three branches respectively in Belgium, France and the Netherlands as well as one office in Germany, Banking Bureau Deputy Director Sherri Chuang (莊琇媛) said.
Securities firms’ exposure jumped 56 percent to NT$87 billion after some raised their investment in euro-denominated fixed-income assets, the Securities and Futures Bureau said.
Financial services firms have a combined exposure of NT$8.12 trillion to the US, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier.
“It is difficult to forecast whether the companies would trim their exposure this month. But we would keep monitoring them and urge them to adjust based on the viral situation,” the commission said.
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