Taiwan's Overbanked Market Is Trying to Consolidate. Again
- Analysts skeptical of authorities’ attempt at consolidation
- Unprofitable margins have seen foreign investors leave Taiwan
Taiwan Central Bank headquarters, left, and the National Treasury Administration (NTA) building in Taipei, Taiwan.
Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Regulators in Taiwan are taking another shot at consolidating a fractured financial system that’s scaring off foreign investors.
The island’s authorities last month made it easier for lenders to merge, part of a long-running campaign to whittle down an industry where assets are so thinly spread that banks struggle to compete with regional rivals. Government policy in the 1990s created a market where tiny entities carved out niches for themselves, making them fiercely independent.