Taiwan's Credit-Card Spending Predicted to Break NT$2 Trillion This Year

Taiwan's credit-card spending reached NT$179.6 billion (US$5.99 billion) in July, bringing such spending to a total of NT$1.1877 trillion (US$39.59 billion) during the first seven months of the year for an annual growth of 7.44%, according to statistics released by Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

In July alone CTBC Bank chalked up credit-card spending of NT$28.2 billion (US$940 million), the highest of all credit-card issuers on the island. Cathay United Bank was second with credit-card spending of NT$27.6 billion (US$920 million), and Citibank (Taiwan) came in third with about NT$20 billion (US$666.67 million)

Currently there are a total of 36.89 million credit cards circulating in Taiwan, of which 23.54 million were used in the past six months and are therefore regarded as valid. The FSC predicts that the island's credit-card spending for the full year may top NT$2 trillion (US$66.67 billion).

In the first seven months Taiwan's domestic banks recorded total pretax profits of NT$208 billion (US$6.93 billion), soaring 29.3% from the corresponding figure of last year. Whole-year profits are projected to top NT$300 billion (US$10 billion).

In the same period, the banks' return on equity (ROE) averaged over 7% and return on assets (ROA) amounted to about 0.5%.

The life insurance industry has also performed well this year, earning profits of NT$46 billion (US$1.53 billion) in the first half, representing a sizable annual rise of 39%. The non-life insurance industry, by contrast, saw profits for the first half plummet 30% from a year earlier to NT$5.6 billion (US$186.67 million). (JL)