Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) is seeking to strengthen its consumer banking business this year, led by mortgage operations, in line with the government’s efforts to help young people buy their own home, chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) said yesterday.
Consumer banking hit NT$1.5 trillion (US$52.85 billion) last year, with mortgage and home renovation loans accounting for 53.3 percent, or NT$800 billion, Lyu told reporters during a public function to mark the first day of work after the Lunar New Year holiday.
“Bank of Taiwan will continue to focus on mortgage operations to support the government’s efforts to help young people buy a home by offering preferential interest rates,” Lyu said.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
In addition, the lender would seek to increase housing loans to government employees, military personnel and public school teachers, as these groups have relatively stable income to meet debt payments, he said.
Loans to these target customers are forecast to reach NT$200 billion this year, which would be about similar to last year’s level, as homeowners have to meet debt obligations, rendering net new loans at between NT$70 billion and NT$80 billion, Lyu said.
The state-owned lender commands a market share of 26.26 percent for housing loans to young people, translating into 85,000 houses, he said.
While seeking business growth, the bank assigns great importance to asset quality and risk management, Lyu said, explaining why its bad loan ratio dropped to a historic low of 0.15 percent last year.
The bank is upbeat about the nation’s economy this year and would set business targets for different units based on expectations that GDP would grow 4 percent, Lyu said.
The continued transfer of electronics orders to Taiwan and supply chain realignment would continue to bolster private investment and fuel loan demand, he said.
The government would lend support by pouring money into infrastructure projects, estimated to be about NT$240 billion, or 1 percent of GDP, this year, Lyu said.
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