Mega International Commercial Bank ranks first in Taiwan in terms of overall financial performance for the first half of 2010, according to the results of a study released Oct. 5.
The survey was jointly conducted by National Taiwan University’s Center for the Study of Banking and Finance and the Banking Education Association of Taiwan.
A total of 23 banks operating in the domestic market were evaluated in the survey based on five criteria, namely, financial structure and solvency, operational ability, profitability, operational scale, and growth during the period.
Hwang Dar-yeh, the director of CSBF, said Mega Bank was able to hold onto its No. 1 position from 2009 because of its strong capital structure and profitability.
Chinatrust Commercial Bank ranked second in the latest survey, primarily due to a stable financial structure, while Cathay United Bank placed third on the list with strong profits. Rounding out the top five were Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank and Taiwan Cooperative Bank, in that order.
The CSBF also released its evaluation of local banks’ overall performance for the whole of 2009. The list for the first five of this year was virtually the same, with only Chinatrust Bank and Cathay Bank switching positions.
Hwang said Taipei Fubon Bank displayed a strong overall performance, noting that it was able to maintain stable profitability even during the recent global recession.
Meanwhile, Far Eastern International Bank has made the greatest strides up the rankings in recent years, rising from the 18th spot in 2008 to 16th in 2009 before leaping forward to No. 9 overall for the first half of this year. (SB)