The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the draft amendments to the statute regarding the establishment and management of the financial reconstruction fund (行政院金融重建基金設置及管理條例) which would raise the fund to NT$1.05 trillion.
If the bill passes into law, the government hopes to see the non-performing loans (NPL) ratio reduced to 5 percent and the capital-adequacy ratio raised to 8 percent within two years.
Statistics show that the rate of non-performing loans reached 8.2 percent in June, excluding loans under observation. Although no change is made this time on the punishment of financial criminals, the government hopes to amend the Banking Law and Criminal Code in future to make the punishments more severe.
Currently, those who steal a financial institution's assets face a sentence of between three to 10 years in prison, according to the statute.
Addressing the press conference held after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning, Cabinet Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (
"I'm afraid if we don't do it today, we'll have to pay a higher price tomorrow," Liu quoted Vice Premier Lin Hsin-yi (
"A delay in the clean-up of the nation's NPL problem will cause a more serious problem that will hinder the nation's long-term economic growth," Liu said.
According to Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (
Since NT$600 billion of the fund would be used to buy up the nation's non-performing loans, the remaining NT$300 billion would be used to restructure ill-fated credit units of farmers' and fishermen's associations, according to Lee.
The fund would also be allowed to purchase troubled banks' impaired assets for re-sale or put down investment in exchange for banks' swap shares should their capital-adequacy ratio fall below of 8 percent.
By taking a stake in the banks, Lee said that the government would be empowered to take the initiative in facilitating mergers and acquisitions among banks. that would maximize the banking sector's economies of scale and solve the nation's problem of an over-saturated banking market.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
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