S&P: Bank of Taiwan unaffected

Standard & Poor's said that its ratings on Bank of Taiwan (A+/stable/A-1) are not affected by an announcement by Taiwan's Ministry of Finance of a possible merger between the bank and Central Trust of China.

Although Central Trust of China's financial profile is weaker than Bank of Taiwan, any merger is unlikely to have a significant negative impact on Bank of Taiwan's financial profile as Central Trust of China is comparatively small, S&P said.

This assessment is based on the assumption that any merger would be carried out through a 100% common share swap. The likelihood that the proposed merger will materialize is not clear at the moment. The ministry has estimated that it would take about 18 months to integrate the companies, S&P said.

While Bank of Taiwan is likely to diversify its businesses and strengthen its strong domestic market position if the proposed merger goes ahead, any substantial benefit is likely to emerge only over the medium term, S&P said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.