First Financial cuts growth expectations for fee incomeBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterState-run First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) has trimmed its growth target for fee income and its wealth management business this year as the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak could weigh on investment sentiment, the bank-focused conglomerate told an online earnings conference on Monday last week. “We have adjusted earnings expectations in the wake of the virus outbreak and cut our growth target for wealth management this year from 15 percent to 10 percent,” First Financial investment relations head Anne Lee (李淑玲) said. Net income at its main subsidiary, First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), rose 32.8 percent year-on-year to NT$4.4 billion, but Lee said that fee income, the group’s main profit driver, would remain vulnerable during the outbreak, with the pinch more evident in its wealth management business. The profit expected from wealth management this year has been adjusted to NT$4 billion, down from the NT$4.4 billion previously forecast, she said, adding that the NT$8 billion projected previously from overall fee income would be somewhat affected. The business would hopefully make a substantial contribution if things return to normal next quarter, she said.

Source: Taipei Times June 06, 2021 15:56 UTC