MOF Evaluating 'Public-Private Mergers' While Ensuring State's Controlling Interest
The consolidation of state-owned financial institutions is drawing attention. According to a written report from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), to enhance competitiveness, a four-in-one merger of state-owned investment trust corporations is underway. Additionally, the MOF is directing state-invested, privatized financial institutions to evaluate and promote "public-private mergers" by identifying suitable targets with complementary synergies, all while ensuring the government's controlling interest is maintained, aiming to expand business scale and strengthen market position.
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- 📰 Published: May 19, 2026 at 16:44
- 🔍 Collected: May 19, 2026 at 17:01 (17 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 19, 2026 at 21:23 (4h 21m after Collected)
The consolidation of state-owned financial institutions is gaining significant attention. According to a written report from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), to enhance the competitiveness of these institutions, a four-in-one merger of state-owned investment trust corporations has been initiated, with the relevant entities actively handling the process. Furthermore, the ministry is supervising state-invested, privatized financial institutions to identify suitable market targets with complementary synergies and to evaluate and promote "public-private mergers" in line with their business development, all under the premise of ensuring the state maintains a controlling interest in management.
Tomorrow, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan will invite Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun to deliver a special report on "Digital Transformation, Talent Recruitment, Employee Rights, and Medium- to Long-Term Consolidation Planning for State-Owned Financial Institutions." The written report was released today.
The MOF report states that the consolidation of financial enterprises contributes to the healthy development of the financial market. Driven by the goal of boosting the competitiveness of state-owned financial institutions, the four-in-one merger of state-owned investment trusts is being actively processed, with the protection of employee job security as a priority.
The ministry also stated it has urged state-invested, privatized financial institutions to, while ensuring the state's controlling management rights, monitor the market for suitable targets offering complementary synergies and to assess promoting "public-private mergers" based on their business development direction to expand operational capacity and enhance market competitiveness. At the same time, it will supervise these entities to comply with relevant laws and market mechanisms during the process, while balancing the interests of shareholders, employees, and customers.
Regarding the digital transformation of state-owned banks, the MOF noted that since 2022, it has been supervising these banks to actively promote the optimization and upgrade of their information systems. The core objective of the plan is primarily to build a flexible "small core, large periphery" architecture to achieve the transformational goal of an "open architecture and diversified services." This also involves strengthening the application of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, while ensuring cybersecurity governance and risk control to maintain the foresight and resilience of the digital transformation.
The MOF said that all state-owned banks are actively progressing according to their planned schedules, with the optimization of all core systems and operating platforms expected to be completed by the end of 2027. To ensure the plan's implementation, the digital transformation progress of each institution is directly tracked and managed by its board of directors, with timely reviews and continuous refinement of action plans to strengthen financial information resilience and improve overall operational synergy.
As for measures to actively retain and attract talent, the MOF has proposed three major initiatives. First, in response to fintech development trends, it will recruit talent through multiple channels, focusing on digital finance and cybersecurity professionals.
Second is the strengthening of promotion and retention mechanisms, including reducing apy gaps and optimizing promotion channels. To close the gap with private financial institutions, state-owned banks have implemented a policy to "decouple" salaries from the civil servant pay scale. Since 2019, this has led to salary increases of nearly 19%, significantly boosting compensation competitiveness.
Third is the optimization of employee benefits and the creation of a friendly workplace environment. The MOF is committed to improving the welfare of employees in state-owned financial enterprises and fostering a family-friendly workplace. For example, starting in 2026, state-owned financial institutions will offer a maternity grant of NT$100,000 per child, while some state-invested, privatized financial institutions will offer up to NT$250,000.
In terms of profit-sharing and care, state-invested, privatized financial institutions are fully implementing employee stock ownership trusts and are reflecting operating profits reasonably in employee remuneration. For the 2025 fiscal year, year-end bonuses distributed in 2026 could reach up to 8.9 months' salary.
Tomorrow, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan will invite Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun to deliver a special report on "Digital Transformation, Talent Recruitment, Employee Rights, and Medium- to Long-Term Consolidation Planning for State-Owned Financial Institutions." The written report was released today.
The MOF report states that the consolidation of financial enterprises contributes to the healthy development of the financial market. Driven by the goal of boosting the competitiveness of state-owned financial institutions, the four-in-one merger of state-owned investment trusts is being actively processed, with the protection of employee job security as a priority.
The ministry also stated it has urged state-invested, privatized financial institutions to, while ensuring the state's controlling management rights, monitor the market for suitable targets offering complementary synergies and to assess promoting "public-private mergers" based on their business development direction to expand operational capacity and enhance market competitiveness. At the same time, it will supervise these entities to comply with relevant laws and market mechanisms during the process, while balancing the interests of shareholders, employees, and customers.
Regarding the digital transformation of state-owned banks, the MOF noted that since 2022, it has been supervising these banks to actively promote the optimization and upgrade of their information systems. The core objective of the plan is primarily to build a flexible "small core, large periphery" architecture to achieve the transformational goal of an "open architecture and diversified services." This also involves strengthening the application of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, while ensuring cybersecurity governance and risk control to maintain the foresight and resilience of the digital transformation.
The MOF said that all state-owned banks are actively progressing according to their planned schedules, with the optimization of all core systems and operating platforms expected to be completed by the end of 2027. To ensure the plan's implementation, the digital transformation progress of each institution is directly tracked and managed by its board of directors, with timely reviews and continuous refinement of action plans to strengthen financial information resilience and improve overall operational synergy.
As for measures to actively retain and attract talent, the MOF has proposed three major initiatives. First, in response to fintech development trends, it will recruit talent through multiple channels, focusing on digital finance and cybersecurity professionals.
Second is the strengthening of promotion and retention mechanisms, including reducing apy gaps and optimizing promotion channels. To close the gap with private financial institutions, state-owned banks have implemented a policy to "decouple" salaries from the civil servant pay scale. Since 2019, this has led to salary increases of nearly 19%, significantly boosting compensation competitiveness.
Third is the optimization of employee benefits and the creation of a friendly workplace environment. The MOF is committed to improving the welfare of employees in state-owned financial enterprises and fostering a family-friendly workplace. For example, starting in 2026, state-owned financial institutions will offer a maternity grant of NT$100,000 per child, while some state-invested, privatized financial institutions will offer up to NT$250,000.
In terms of profit-sharing and care, state-invested, privatized financial institutions are fully implementing employee stock ownership trusts and are reflecting operating profits reasonably in employee remuneration. For the 2025 fiscal year, year-end bonuses distributed in 2026 could reach up to 8.9 months' salary.