Taiwan's Cathay United Bank charts path to regional leadership
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Cathay United Bank, a subsidiary of Taiwan's largest financial group, Cathay Financial Holdings, is undergoing a bold transformation from a domestic bank into a fully-fledged regional bank, with Southeast Asia in its sights and Hong Kong at the heart of its expansion strategy.
The bank's regional ambitions were highlighted by Andrew Kuo, Chairman of Cathay United Bank, in January, following a record post-tax profit. He pledged to ramp up overseas investment, expand customer-centric services across markets and drive diversification.
"That's our target," echoed Benny Miao, Executive Vice President at Cathay United Bank. "We're already present in most of Asia, and now it's about deepening our presence, ensuring we remain relevant and meaningful to our clients, and expanding further based on their evolving needs."
The move reflects Cathay United Bank's broader ambition to expand its cross-border banking capabilities by tapping into the ASEAN markets and leveraging Hong Kong's financial infrastructure and talent pool.
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Cathay United Bank currently operates in 11 Asian markets, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Singapore. Its latest expansion plan into Mumbai was approved by the island's regulator in March, bringing its total offshore locations to 68.
"The expansion is not just about planting flags," Miao said. "It's about going where our clients are or where they're heading. If I'm not there, and my client is, I can't serve them. We have to think far enough ahead and make strategic decisions accordingly."
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