Three major Taiwanese banks yesterday signed a cooperation agreement with a Chinese state-controlled peer in the hope of taking advantage of its numerous branches to expedite expansion across the Taiwan Strait.
Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行), Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀), the banking units of Cathay Financial Holdings Co (國泰金控) and Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) respectively, as well as Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), signed separate memorandums of understanding (MOU) with Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank, 中國農業銀行) in Taipei to pave the way for cooperation in corporate lending, bancassurance, retail banking and personnel training.
AgBank chairman Xiang Junbo (項俊波) inked the agreements personally with his counterparts of the three Taiwanese lenders at each bank’s respective headquarters.
Cathay Bank expects the pact to facilitate its expansion in China because AgBank provides corporate and consumer banking, underwriting and other services through a massive network at 23,500 outlets throughout China, the lender said in a statement.
Mega Bank, which is waiting for approval from China to establish a branch in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, expressed in a statement that the memorandum would help speed up its development in the market.
Taiwan Cooperative Bank, which has the largest number of branches throughout Taiwan, expects the agreement to serve as a foundation on which the two lenders can join hands and strengthen bilateral ties in the Greater China area.
AgBank is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and was ranked 141st on the global Fortune 500 list of companies last year.
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