Incoming Minister of Finance Joseph Lyu (
"I'll hold discussions with the ministry's staff [today] to gain a clear understanding [about the ministry's tasks] before advancing my opinions," said Lyu, who served as chairman of the Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) until yesterday.
Lyu will assume office today, while Lin will retire. Lin has been invited to serve as an unpaid National Policy Adviser to President Chen Shui-bian (
After evading reporters' questions several times at Lin's farewell party yesterday, the tight-lipped Lyu merely said, "I'll do my best" at his own farewell event later in the day.
During Lyu's 575-day chairmanship of the nation's largest lender, the 50-year-old banker was known for strong execution skills and an active management style.
As of Monday, the bank had recorded NT$1.36 trillion (US$42.5 billion) in total lending. The previous high was in 2000, when the century-old bank's loans totaled NT$1.35 trillion.
Its broad-based non-performing loan (NPL) ratio has dropped to under 1.5 percent, and it reported pretax profits of NT$15.2 billion last year, surpassing the statutory budget, Lyu said.
STEEP DECLINE: Yesterday’s drop was the third-steepest in its history, the steepest being Monday’s drop in the wake of the tariff announcement on Wednesday last week Taiwanese stocks continued their heavy sell-off yesterday, as concerns over US tariffs and unwinding of leveraged bets weighed on the market. The benchmark TAIEX plunged 1,068.19 points, or 5.79 percent, to 17,391.76, notching the biggest drop among Asian peers as it hit a 15-month low. The decline came even after the government on late Tuesday authorized the NT$500 billion (US$15.2 billion) National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) to step in to buoy the market amid investors’ worries over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Yesterday’s decline was the third-steepest in its history, trailing only the declines of 2,065.87 points on Monday and
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