CTBC Bank Leads Taiwanese Peers in Asian Footholds after Tokyo Star Merger

After the merger with the Japan-based Tokyo Star Bank, CTBC Bank is now the first Taiwanese bank with a subsidiary in Japan and the most footholds in Asia due to Tokyo Star's 31 branches in Japan.

Five Taiwanese banks have set up six branches in Japan, including the Bank of Taiwan, First Bank, Chang Hwa Bank, Mega International Commercial Bank, and CTBC Bank, with  CTBC being the first Taiwanese bank to run a subsidiary there.

Cathay United Bank used to lead Taiwanese banks in Asia with 55 footholds, and CTBC followed with 48 but has exceeded the former with 79 footholds in Asia after the Tokyo Star merger.

Foreseeing better economic climate in Asia, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) encourages Taiwanese banks to explore the financial segment in the region, also predicting Asia to see the world's highest economic growth in the next decade or two.

The FSC suggests Taiwanese banks should focus on emerging markets as Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos to establish footholds. Cathay is expanding operations in Asia and has recently been approved by the Laotian authorities to set up a branch in Vientiane, becoming the first Taiwanese bank to run a branch there.

Cathay has 36 footholds in Vietnam and 16 in Cambodia, also waiting for approval to set up  representative offices in Myanmar and Indonesia.

Mega is also quite interested in expanding operations in Asia, where it has 17 footholds, and is emphasizing global deployment, with its global footholds exceeding that of Cathay's by four. (JL)

No. of Taiwan's 3 Major Banks' Global and Asian Footholds
Bank	No. of global footholds	No. of Asian footholds
Mega	64	17
CTBC	98 (99)	48 (79)
Cathay	60	55

*The number in the brackets is counted after merging Tokyo Star.

Source: Financial Supervisory Commission