State-run First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) plans to boost lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support the government’s policy, newly installed chairwoman Chiou Ye-chin (邱月琴) said yesterday.
Chiou made known her intentions after taking over the chairmanship at the bank-focused conglomerate.
The position had been vacant since July after Jason Liao (廖燦昌) stepped down amid allegations that he pressured bank executives to approve loans to the now-defunct Far Eastern Air Transport Corp (遠東航空) against their professional judgement during his stint in 2009 as Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行) chairman, prosecutors said at the time.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
Chiou, a former president at state-owned Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), said that under her leadership, First Financial would seek to emulate Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控), the most profitable state-run financial conglomerate.
Toward that aim, First Financial would strengthen ties with small and medium-sized enterprises, an area in which Chiou has demonstrated professional prowess while working at the Bank of Taiwan.
First Financial would also facilitate expansion in Southeast Asian markets where Taiwanese businesspeople are building up a presence to take advantage of the region’s fast-growing economy and cope with US-China trade tensions, Chiou said.
First Financial would not rule out merger and acquisition opportunities to grow its assets after losing the competition for Prudential Life Insurance Co of Taiwan (保德信人壽) to Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) in August, Chiou said.
It would groom talent and step up legal compliance while pursuing profit growth against industry headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
With a bachelor’s degree in economics from National Taiwan University, Chiou has served at different positions at Bank of Taiwan for the past 37 years.
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