BSP OKs opening of Bank of Taiwan representative office

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has given Bank of Taiwan the green light to open a representative office in the Philippines amid the country’s robust macroeconomic fundamentals.

BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said the central bank’s Monetary Board approved the application of Bank of Taiwan last March 1.

Authorized representative offices serve as liaison offices to promote and provide information about the services or products offered by the foreign banks, but may not transact banking business, such as acceptance of deposits, issuance of letters of credit, and foreign exchange trading.

Transactions generated through the promotional efforts of the representative office may be booked only by the foreign bank abroad.

Bank of Taiwan has 169 domestic branches as well as presence in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Tokyo, London, Singapore, South Africa, Los Angeles, and New York.

The bank was established in May 1946 as the first government-owned bank following the island’s restoration to the Republic of China. In 1998, Bank of Taiwan was subsequently taken over by the central government of the Republic of China and was placed under the Ministry of Finance.

In 2008, Bank of Taiwan became part of the Taiwan Financial Holding Group.

The approval by the BSP brings to 12 the number of foreign banks operating representative offices in the Philippines.

These include State Bank of India, Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank Ltd., Wells Fargo Bank, Korea Development Bank, Bank of Singapore Ltd., DBS Bank Ltd, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Rothschild (Singapore) ltd., The Bank of New York Mellon, Korea Eximbank, and UBS AG.

The BSP has also approved the entry of 12 foreign banks since former president Benigno Aquino III signed Republic Act 10641 or An Act Allowing the Full Entry of Foreign Banks in the Philippines in July 2014 removing the ownership limit of foreign banks in the country.

These include Taiwan’s Hua Nan Commercial Bank Ltd., Cathay United Bank, Yuanta Bank, First Commercial Bank, and Chang Hwa Bank Commercial Bank Ltd.; Korea’s Shinhan Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank; Sumitomo Mitsui of Japan; United Overseas Bank Ltd. of Singapore, CIMB Bank of Malaysia, and Beijing-based Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).