The nation’s financial system emerged from the US subprime crisis and runs on domestic banks unscathed last year, the central bank said in its first financial stability report yesterday.
Taiwan’s economic growth could slow to 4.78 percent this year from 5.72 percent last year, the bank said, adding that it plans to publish a report on the overall financial state every six months.
Fred Chen (陳上程), director-general of the monetary regulator’s financial inspection department, said the bank followed the practice of the IMF, Singapore, the Netherlands and South Korea in compiling the report.
The report pointed out that the financial market managed to maintain normal operations despite the unrest caused by the Rebar group, whose founder Wang You-theng (王又曾) and his wife fled the country days after two subsidiary companies filed for solvency protection.
This disrupting episode did not develop into a systemic crisis because financial authorities were able to make quick responses, Chen said.
He admitted there were flaws in domestic financial institutions, but declined to make further comments.
The report added that Taiwanese households borrow more money from banks, compared with their counterparts in Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
The report said it expected the trend to worsen against the backdrop of rising inflation.
The bank conceived the idea of publishing the report back in 2004, but didn’t realize the plans until this month.
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