The Taiwan Banker

Sharp-eyed readers may be curious as to why the cover of this issue of the Taiwan Banker magazine features a group of people in traditional clothing. This is not a historical time travel drama, but rather discusses the very modern financial regulatory platform proposed by Chairman Peng Jin-Lung of the Financial Supervisory Commission. After participating in a meeting of this group, I imagined ancient Athenians gathering in the public square to openly discuss whatever topic comes to mind. Everyone could express their opinions fairly and freely, with nothing off limits, searching for feasible conclusions through “Socratic dialogue.” This open and public discussion has been regarded by later generations as the origin of modern democracy. Of course, many subsequent scholars with cite shortcomings of Athenian democracy, but important point is fair and open dialogue among participants. Only in this way can meaningful conclusions be drawn. Referring to the platform, Chairman Peng said that regulators must be able to “convince people with reason, not just force.” In the past, regulatory amendments had to wait for annual white papers compiled by the Taiwan Financial Services Roundtable (TFSR); the information flow was a one-way street. Relevant bureaus and divisions of the FSC would discuss relevant proposals. For cross-ministerial proposals, the FSC would need to wait for other ministries and commissions to respond before giving a full response to the TFSR. Of course, there is no shortage of perennial issues faced by the financial industry, but some issues also require long-term inter-ministerial consultation, especially those related to tax deductions and exemptions. These are important but cannot be easily solved in a short time. In the process of collecting such topics, banks face a variety of daily compliance issues which are often ignored. Although minor, these problems frequently bother them or their consumers and regulators may fail to notice. Now, through direct dialogue between businesses and regulators, problems can be analyzed and solutions attempted. This change from a one-way to a two-way street is the first such attempt by an administrative agency. So far, preliminary results have been achieved, and a considerable portion of banks’ proposals have been adopted. This new attempt is worth encouraging, so we should applaud everyone who participated. Even though the cases mentioned on the platform seem to be small for now, many small streams eventually converge into a river. All financial reforms are based on this principle. On another note, the “Hank's Talk” column has been suspended due to the busy schedule of the author Hank Huang, president of TABF. We also look forward to seeing his writing and insights again soon.