Taishin Financial : FHC delivered stable profitability in 9M20. Net Interest Income rose by 11.6% YoY

(2020/11/11) While the coronavirus pandemic's 2nd wave has taken an increasing toll on countries around the world since late October, Taiwan has managed to prevent the spread of the virus thanks to the public's cooperation with the government's recommended measures. However, in order to further minimize the risk of contracting the virus, Taishin FHC today held its 3Q20 analyst meeting online. Taishin FHC's President Welch Lin, CFO Carol Lai, and Chief Investment Officer Eric Chien, alongside Taishin Bank's President Oliver Shang, Wholesale Banking Group CEO Sharon Lin, and Retail Banking Group CEO Wilson Chou jointly presented at the live webcast to discuss 9M20's operating results. Welch Lin commented that Taishin FHC rose above the disruptive impacts of the pandemic, demonstrated a resilient profitability, and, lifted by steady growth in NII and NFI, delivered a net income after tax of NT$11.8bn. The 9M20 EPS was NT$0.96, the ROE was 10.0%, and the BVPS was NT$12.97.

Welch Lin highlighted that Taishin FHC delivered decent growth in net interest income in 9M20 (+11.6% YoY), and explained that Taishin Bank's wealth management fee growth and Taishin Securities' robust brokerage fee growth both played key roles pushing net fee income growth up by 4% YoY. Subsidiary Taishin Bank's total deposit grew by 11.4% YoY, and its loan growth reached 10.0% YoY, with high demands from both domestic and overseas branches boosting FCY loan growth by 17.2% YoY. The credit card business delivered steady growth with 4 million active cards (+4.1% YTD), and Taishin Bank remains champion of the industry with over 150,000 merchants served (+5.7%YTD). In addition, personal lending posted an impressive growth of 16.6% YoY. Subsidiary Taishin Securities' net fee income soared by 73.3% YoY, while its brokerage business has been steadily gaining market share, hitting record highs throughout 2020 and reaching 2.2% in 3Q20. Taishin maintained a strong capital position with FHC CAR at 119.4% and bank BIS at 14.5%. Taishin Bank's asset quality remained benign, with NPL ratio at 0.16% and coverage ratio at 839%.

With regards to the acquisition of Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan Inc. (POT), Welch Lin explained that the application is in progress and more updates will be offered in due course. Welch Lin reiterated that Taishin FHC is fully prepared to welcome POT as the Group's third profit engine, emphasizing that POT will complement the existing businesses, create synergy, and offer all clients a wider range of innovative financial solutions and high quality services.

As internet-only banks are set to begin their trial operations, Oliver Shan spoke confidently about Taishin Bank's forward-looking digital transformation, pointing out that Richart, Taishin Bank's digital banking brand, has maintained its market-leading position with more than 2.25 million accounts opened. In addition, since being launched in August 2020, the number of users for Richart Life, Taishin Bank's hugely popular fintech ecosystem app, has already surpassed one million. As the next phase of merchant-specific promotional deals and innovative service features are introduced, the app will further integrate everyday transactions-payments, bonus points, rebates, and financial services-into its users' lives. Indeed, Taishin Bank's fintech innovations continue to receive domestic and international recognition. In September, Global Finance announced the winners for the World's Best Consumer Digital Banks Awards in Asia-Pacific, and the Country Winner for Taiwan was awarded to Taishin Bank. In addition, Taishin Bank stood out earlier this month in an intense competition among its peers and received the highly coveted Taiwan Banking and Finance Best Practice Award for Best Digital Banking.

Welch Lin proudly mentioned that for the 3rd consecutive year, Taishin FHC was included in HR Asia Magazine's 'Best Companies to Work for in Asia' list, a feat that cements Taishin FHC's status as a world-class corporation with high levels of employee engagement and an excellent workplace culture. In order to direct resources to NGOs in a transparent and highly visible manner, Taishin Charity Foundation is this month running its 11th annual 'Power of Love' campaign, where the public can support NGOs by casting votes online in support of their favored organizations. Welch Lin emphasized that Taishin FHC's ESG performance has been way ahead of its peers, something proved by the company's inclusion on multiple ESG indexes and rating results. Going forward, Taishin will implement yet more sustainability initiatives and corporate social responsibility programs to fulfill stakeholders' expectations and generate positive social impacts.