Merger of Taishin, Shin Kong slated for July 24

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) The merger of Taishin Financial Holding Co. and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co. is scheduled to be completed on July 24, Taishin Financial Chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮) said Monday.

Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, Wu said the combined company after the merger will be named TS Financial Holding Co. and will become the fourth largest financial holding company in Taiwan in terms of total assets.

The two companies first announced the merger deal in August 2024, and after it was approved by shareholders of the two companies in October 2024 and by the Fair Trade Commission in January 2025, it got the green light from the Financial Supervisory Commission at the end of March 2025.

During the process, the two companies fended off a counterbid from CTBC Financial Holding Co., which had also coveted Shin Kong Financial.

Echoing Wu, Taishin Financial President Welch Lin (林維俊) said mergers of the major subsidiaries under the two financial holding firms' corporate umbrellas are scheduled to be completed by the end of June 2026.

Completion of a merger of the securities trust business is scheduled for the end of this year, while the mergers of the life insurance operations and the securities business are scheduled for January and April 2026, respectively, Lin said.

The banking business is expected to complete its merger in June as the transfer of banking operation systems will be more complicated than transferring systems for other operations, Lin said.

If that deadline is missed, Lin said, the completion date will be delayed to around the Mid-Autumn Festival, which will fall on Sept. 25 in 2026.

In 2024, Taishin Financial posted a net profit of NT$20.1 billion (US$676 million), the second highest in the company's history, up from NT$14.60 billion in 2023, with earnings per share at NT$1.39, compared with NT$1.01 a year earlier.

According to Lin, Taishin International Bank, the banking arm of Taishin Financial, recorded a net profit of NT$18.5 billion in 2024, up almost 25 percent from a year earlier, while Taishin Securities Co. saw its net profit soar 53 percent to NT$2.36 billion.

In addition, Taishin Life Insurance, the flagship insurance asset of Taishin Financial, posted a net profit of NT$1.24 billion in 2024, according to Lin.

Lin said that after the merger, TS Financial is expected to provide more comprehensive one-stop services, which will help it gain a bigger market share, and take advantage of artificial intelligence applications to further strengthen its footing.