Combined exposure to China at the nation’s 15 financial services firms fell 3.5 percent to NT$2.55 trillion from NT$2.64 trillion a quarter earlier, mainly because their banking unit’s call loans and deposits declined 13 percent to NT$495 billion, commission data showed. Combined lending to China dropped 2.3 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$722 billion, while investments remained flat at NT$1.33 trillion compared with the previous quarter, data showed. That indicated a change in their attitude toward the market, given their combined exposure to China increased from the first quarter to the second quarter, Hou said. Cathay Financial Holding Co’s (國泰金控) banking unit trimmed its lending to China as it became more conservative amid higher uncertainty, company spokesman Daniel Teng (鄧崇儀) said by telephone. Overall, China and Hong Kong remained local financial services companies’ second and fourth-largest markets respectively in terms of exposure, data showed.

Source: Taipei Times December 10, 2019 15:56 UTC