Bank of Taiwan

Bank of Taiwan is working to get the central bank's permission to become a clearing bank under the cross-strait currency clearing system.

It’s another advance for cross-strait banking.

The lender cleared to hold financing, syndicated lending, purchasing and holding securities, remittances and foreign-exchange trading services in the US city.

The Taiwanese lender has already inked two separate pacts with Bank of China and Bank of Nanjing since China and Taiwan signed the Economic Cooperation Framework.

Yet the lender still needs approval from Chinese lender to complete upgrade.

Customers can save about 1% in the cost of yuan settlement services.

Lender allowed investing as much as 15% of its net worth in China.

Lender sees funding of Taiwan’s rail project and improved relationship with foreign banks as growth drivers.

February 1 opening seen to symbolize improving financial cooperation between China and Taiwan.

BOT chair said it considers buying China's municipal banks while forming alliances with its top lenders.

It has lost money for two straight months this year, yet Bank of Taiwan plans to start making money by increasing loans at higher interest rates to clients "prone to credit risk". It failed in America, but perhaps Taiwan is different?