Taiwan Banks Record Slow Rise in RMB Deposits

Taiwan's renminbi (RMB) deposits reached a record 295.2 billion RMB (about NT$1.417 trillion, or US$47.23 billion) in August, for a marginal monthly rise of 0.76% or 2.218 billion RMB (about NT$10.65 billion or US$355 million), according to the Central Bank.

A senior Central Bank official notes that August was the fourth consecutive month in which RMB deposits grew less than 1%, indicating a slowdown in such deposits by the people of Taiwan.

Of the total RMB deposits in August, designated domestic banking units (DBUs) held the lion's share of 243.3 billion RMB, up 2.375 billion RMB from the previous month, while offshore banking units (OBUs) accounted for the remaining 51.881 billion RMB, down 157 million RMB.

In the same month, DBUs handled RMB remittances totaling 41.637 billion RMB, for a slight monthly rise of 1.6 billion RMB, and OBUs handled remittances of 26.5 billion RMB, a drop of 12.328 billion RMB from the previous month.

At the end of August outstanding RMB loans and discounts by domestic banks stood at 17.681 billion RMB, accounting for only 6% of their total loans and representing a slight monthly increase of 430 million RMB.

To attract more RMB deposits, some domestic banks, including the Bank of Taiwan, Hua Nan Bank, Bank SinoPac, Land Bank of Taiwan, Ta Chong Bank, and Yuanta Bank, have continued to offer relatively high interest rates of over 3% per annum on one-year RMB deposits. They predict that Taiwan's outstanding RMB deposits may reach 300 billion RMB by the end of this year. (JL)