Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/22/2020
By: Wu Chia-hung and Frances Huang

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) E. Sun Commercial Bank and Hua Nan Commercial Bank, two major Taiwanese banks, said Tuesday that they will make all of their branches bilingual by 2026, with their employees proficient in English.

E. Sun Financial Holding Co., which wholly owns E. Sun Bank, said that all of its 139 branches in Taiwan will be English-proficient by 2026, while Hua Nan Financial Co., which owns Hua Nan Bank, said that by 2026, all of its 186 branches will also be bilingual.

The two banks are among local banks that are eyeing the goal of becoming bilingual, a push that has been ongoing since 2019 by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), Taiwan's top financial regulator, to boost the banking sector's competitive edge.

The FSC's efforts fall under the Taiwan government's "2030 Bilingual Country" policy. The policy was initiated by Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in 2018 when he was serving as premier.    [FULL  STORY]