Bank
Cathay Bank’s Chairman Ousted by Governance Row & Family Feud
Cathay United Bank is facing a leadership shake-up after Chairman Kuo Ming-jian resigned amid a governance dispute and an escalating conflict involving members of Taiwan’s billionaire Tsai family.
Cathay Bank's chairman steps down in a bizarre leadership transition at one of the nation's biggest financial institutions, the result of a governance clash among members of Taiwan's billionaire Tsai family.
Cathay Financial Holding said it had found itself in disagreement with Kuo Ming-jian over governance, prompting his resignation as chairman of Cathay United Bank.
The resignation followed an escalation of tension among the family members that ruled the company, as reported on several occasions, during a board meeting.
The transition is impacting a banking group that is fundamental in Taiwan's financial industry. Cathay Financial Holding is one of the largest diversified financial groups in the island by assets, with operations in commercial banking, life insurance, general insurance and securities and asset management.
Leadership Transition, Barna follows Governance Dispute
The battle has come to highlight governance at family-owned companies, including those that have a big influence on the financial markets. Conflict between key shareholders does not happen often but there are relatively few cases of high-level disagreements between shareholders of major listed financial institutions in public disputes.
The transition of leadership will be based on Cathay's existing good corporate governance processes, the firm said. The company also said that activities of customer service, lending and everyday banking are continuing normally.
Despite the mixed interest-rate market, Cathay Financial was still profitable in 2025 thanks to the banking and insurance businesses, according to the latest financial disclosures from Cathay.
The firm remains one of Taiwan's biggest financial holding companies with a combined million of retail and corporate customers.
Governance stays in the spotlight
The Financial Supervisory Commission has been stepping up its governance requirements for listed financial institutions, and the resignation follows the announcement.
In response to the efforts of global regulators to strengthen governance in banking systems, regulators have focused more on the accountability of the boards, the role of independent directors, role of internal controls and risk oversight.
Taiwan's banking system has been fairly stable and well capitalized for the most part, despite some of the markets in the region, thanks to a solid capital base and regulation. Financial centres, such as South Korea, Japan and Singapore, have also continued to step up their banking governance requirements, including the disclosure of information and board oversight.
Alongside Kuo's resignation, no other executive resignations were announced, and Cathay Financial hasn't announced changes to its broader business strategy.
Source: Bloomberg
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