OPPORTUNITIES:Jose Vinals was upbeat on loan opportunities to Taiwan’s small and medium-sized enterprises as they respond to the ‘new southbound policy’

Taipei Times
Date: May 15, 2017
By: Ted Chen / Staff reporter

Taiwan remains an important market for Standard Chartered PLC, newly appointed chairman Jose Vinals said during a visit to the company’s flagship digital branch in Taipei on Friday last week, the first by a top executive from the firm in five years.

Among the 78 markets where the Asia-focused British bank operates, Taiwan last year ranked among the top 10 performers in retail banking, and among the top three in wealth management, Vinals said.

The company is also to continue investments in financial technology (fintech) to improve cost optimization, he said.

As the evolution of fintech brings sweeping changes to the financial services sector, the majority of disruptive innovations have been in retail banking, Vinals said.

Fintech innovations allow for greater cost reductions and improved efficiency through automation, while also elevating risk control capabilities and facilitating delivery of products and services, Vinals said.    [FULL  STORY]