CTBC Bank gets FSC approval to open representative office in Houston

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) CTBC Bank, the flagship banking arm of Taiwan-based CTBC Financial Holding Co., has obtained approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) to open a representative office in Houston, the FSC said Wednesday.

In a statement, the FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan, said CTBC Bank's operations in the United States currently consists of a subsidiary based in Los Angeles, a branch in New York, and a representative office in Los Angeles.

To provide financial services to more Taiwanese investors and help them extend their reach in the U.S. market, the bank is planning to set up a representative office in Houston, the FSC said.

Taiwanese banks are allowed to open a representative office in foreign markets first to collect market information before the office is upgraded into a branch.

According to the FSC, a total of 25 Taiwanese banks have branches in the U.S. market, with three having subsidiaries in place and an additional three running representative offices there. In Texas alone, the FSC said, two Taiwanese banks have branches.

As of December 2024, CTBC Bank has 12 branches in overseas markets, including Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Delhi, Sriperumbudur, New York, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Shenzhen.

It also has subsidiaries in Indonesia, the Philippines, Canada, the U.S., Japan and Thailand, and representative offices in Bangkok, Hanoi, Beijing, Los Angeles, Kuala Lumpur, Sidney and Yangon, the FSC said.

In 2024, CTBC Bank's pretax profit generated from overseas markets topped NT$20 billion, accounting for more than 30 percent of its total pretax profit of NT$62.83 billion (US$193 million).