Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀) yesterday said it is seeking to improve profitability this year by expanding loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and overseas operations as they generate higher margins.
The state-run lender made the announcement after posting NT$2.12 billion (US$72.74 million) in net income for the first quarter — its highest in two-and-a-half years — or earnings per share of NT$0.27.
The lender’s efforts to enhance asset quality and diversify sources of income have started to pay off, bank officials told an online investors’ conference, adding that increases in wealth management and fee income helped offset losses linked to volatile financial markets.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
The uptrend is expected to continue for the rest of this year, benefiting from monetary tightening cycles at home and abroad, the officials said.
As of March, lending to small and medium-sized enterprises totaled NT$66.85 billion, an increase of 10.04 percent from a year earlier, they said, adding that the business would continue to provide momentum to loan growth this year.
Interest spread widened from 1.31 percent in March to 1.42 percent last month, following the central bank’s interest rate hike of 25 basis points on March 17, the officials said.
The gap would increase if the central bank raises interest rates later this year, in line with global peers, they added.
Taiwan Business Bank said it would hold mortgage operations steady by focusing on first-home buyers and people with real demand, while supporting selective credit controls on multiple-home mortgages.
Banks intent on active mortgage lending would have to demonstrate higher capital adequacy to meet stricter risk requirements.
Taiwan Business Bank said it would also work toward improving business at its branches in Australia, China, Hong Kong and the US, with the aim of boosting their revenue contributions to 20 percent this year.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS