Taichung Commercial Bank’s move comes amid heightened military tension between mainland China and Taiwan in 2022. Taiwan is home to some of the world’s largest technology companies, and Washington has encouraged Taiwan’s chip industry to invest in the US. GlobalWafers, a maker of semiconductor wafers, announced plans to build a USD 5 billion facility in Texas, and MediaTek, which competes with Qualcomm, will open a design centre at Purdue University.
The US currently has more than 70 Asian American or Pacific Islander American owned banks, according to Investopedia. East West Bank leads the way, with Taiwan-based CTCB Bank being among the group. Far East National, then backed by Taiwan’s Bank SinoPac, was acquired Cathay General in 2017.
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has required credit card companies in August 2022 to ban payments for crypto-related purchases, as the regulator believes these assets are risky and speculative.
According to the FSC, credit cards should be used only as a payment method for goods and services and not facilitate speculative trading and financial investments, which could easily lead to debt and a high fiscal burden. Credit card providers who currently serve crypto merchants have three months to comply with the latest FSC requirements and, once the deadline passes, companies must submit an audit report to the regulator.
The regulator also mentioned that credit cards are now used as payment tools to supply irresponsible financial behaviours, including funding online gambling, stocks, futures, options, and other types of transactions which are considered high risk, and this will only lead to more debt and less financial stability among investors.
Taichung Business Bank’s history traces to the 1950s when it started out as a savings cooperative. It took advantage of banking industry liberalisation in the 1990s, following the end of nearly four decades of martial law in 1987, to expand north from its base in the central Taiwan city of Taichung into the richer market of Taipei, Taiwan’s largest city and main business hub.
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