Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co (合庫金控) and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd (彰化銀行) yesterday struck an upbeat tone on their full-year profit outlook after posting solid earnings growth in the first quarter, underpinned by resilient corporate lending, expanding wealth management income and improved overseas operations.
Taiwan Cooperative Financial said net profit rose 21.77 percent year-on-year to NT$5.81 billion (US$184.73 million), or earnings per share of NT$0.36.
The results reflected steady contributions from its banking, securities and insurance subsidiaries, which helped offset external headwinds from higher inflation and softer global growth amid lingering geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Taiwan Cooperative Financial president Su Tso-cheng (蘇佐政) told an earnings conference.
.Photo: Taipei Times
Favorable financial conditions and continued technology investment have helped cushion macroeconomic volatility, and could help the company deliver record-high profit again this year, Su said.
The company’s banking unit, Taiwan Cooperative Bank Ltd (合庫銀行), posted double-digit growth in fee income alongside stable loan expansion, it said.
The bank provided more than NT$860 billion in loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, and extended more than NT$300 billion in loans to first-home buyers in the first quarter, it added.
Other subsidiaries delivered broad-based gains, with Taiwan Cooperative Securities Co (合庫證券) benefiting from improved brokerage activity and proprietary trading income, while Taiwan Cooperative Life Insurance Co (合庫人壽) was supported by rising premium income, it said.
Taiwan Cooperative Financial is also positive about Taiwan’s economic outlook, projecting expansion of at least 8 percent this year, driven largely by demand for electronics linked to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
Separately, Chang Hwa Bank reported first-quarter net profit of NT$5.22 billion, up 26.27 percent from a year earlier, or earnings per share of NT$0.44.
The growth was driven mainly by corporate lending and overseas operations, with supply-chain restructuring and cross-border financing demand pushing overseas lending up 23.61 percent year-on-year, Chang Hwa Bank said.
Demand linked to AI, semiconductors and high-performance computing was robust, while financing needs from traditional industries also began to recover as tariff-related uncertainty eased, it said.
The US is one of its most profitable overseas markets, along with Hong Kong and Singapore, Chang Hwa Bank said, adding that it is considering establishing a presence in Phoenix, Arizona, to capture growing investment tied to semiconductor manufacturing and related industries there.
Wealth management also emerged as a key earnings driver, with fee income rising more than 40 percent year-on-year, supported by demand for insurance products, mutual funds and services targeting high-net-worth clients, it said.
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