STARTING OVER:The financial group is staying off overseas acquisitions and tightening compliance after its main banking subsidiary was hit by a US$180 million fine last year

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 21, 2017
By: Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

State-run Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) is to pursue stable and sustainable profit growth this year, and set up a computer system to prevent compliance failures, which led to a heavy fine on its New York banking branch last year, top executives said.

The bank-focused conglomerate is aiming for a conservative increase of between 1.5 and 2 percent in its loan book this year and is to stop seeking acquisition opportunities at home and abroad.

“We will give top priority to reversing the company’s tarnished image and shun bold moves in the pursuit of profit,” Mega Financial chairman Michael Chang (張兆順) told a news conference on Saturday.

Chang set the goal after the US$180 million fine in August last year by the New York State Department of Financial Services wiped out main subsidiary Mega International Commercial Bank’s (兆豐商銀) overseas earnings and accounted for the group’s profit decline of 23.52 percent from 2015.    [FULL  STORY]