State-run Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co (合庫金控) yesterday said it aims to increase total lending by 7 percent this year, after outstanding loans increased 7 percent last month.
It aims to preserve the momentum over the rest of the year, the bank-focused group said, adding that it would prioritize retirement planning and lending to urban renewal projects.
Main subsidiary Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合庫銀行) reported that fee income from wealth management and credit card businesses in the first quarter fell 11.46 percent and 42.86 percent respectively, as global monetary tightening and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine weighed on investment sentiment.
The nation’s largest lender by number of branches said that it aims to shore up its wealth management business by expanding its product line.
Taiwan Cooperative Financial reported that net profit in the first quarter slipped 6.45 percent year-on-year to NT$4.47 billion (US$150.45 million), or earnings per share of NT$0.32.
The property market is going through a consolidation phase, due to a spike in domestic COVID-19 infections and unfavorable policy measures, but would likely recover later in the year thanks to real demand, the company said.
Land financing in the first quarter dipped 1.11 percent from the last quarter of last year, but home loans increased 1.2 percent, it said.
The central bank is likely to raise its discount rate by 12.5 basis points next month, unless downside risks to the nation’s economy loom larger, it said.
A rate hike of 0.25 percentage points could benefit the bank’s net interest margin by 0.055 percentage points if other factors remain unchanged, it said.
Net interest margin in the first quarter fell to 0.895 percent, company data showed.
Contributions from overseas branches in the first quarter soared to 52.01 percent from 28.7 percent a quarter earlier, thanks to better asset quality and accounting rule changes in the US, the firm said.
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