Banking
1.Regulatory exemptions for foreign exchange designated bank conducting foreign exchange loan business for trial in local asset management zone
On 20 June 2025, the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Central Bank) issued a ruling which provides that certain provisions under the Directions Governing Banking Enterprises for Operating Foreign Exchange Business (Directions) do not apply to foreign exchange designated banks conducting foreign exchange loan business for trial in local asset management zone. We summarize below:
(1) For foreign currency policy loans and foreign currency premium loans secured by insurance contracts of high-asset customers, or foreign currency loans secured by financial asset portfolios (Lombard Lending) of high-asset customers, Items 1 and 2 of Paragraph 1, Article 6 of the Directions do not apply. Namely, the clients of such business are not limited to domestic customers, and the foreign transaction documents of the clients, approval documents of the Central Bank or other documents specified by the Central Bank are not required.
(2) If the collaterals of abovementioned business are denominated in foreign currency, Item 3, Paragraph 1, Article 6 of the Directions does not apply. Namely, it is not subject to the restriction that foreign currency loans shall not be converted to NT dollars.
(3) Foreign exchange designated bank conducting the above business for trial shall submit the “monthly report for banks conducting foreign currency policy loans, foreign currency premium loans and foreign currency loans secured by financial asset portfolio (Lombard Lending) in local asset management zone” for the previous month to the Central Bank before the 10th day of each month.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Ron Tsai
Financial
2.Draft Amendments to Regulations Governing Domestic Branches of Financial Institutions for Public Consultation
On 12 June 2025, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced the draft amendments to the Regulations Governing Domestic Branches of Financial Institutions for public consultation. We summarize below:
(1) To encourage financial institutions to establish branches in local asset management zone and enhance financial competitiveness, it is stipulated that financial institutions applying to establish branches in local asset management zone shall not be subject to restrictions regarding financial and business conditions or the timing of the application.
(2) Where a financial institution is approved to establish a branch in a local asset management zone, such branch shall not be relocated within seven (7) years from the date of establishment, unless otherwise approved by the competent authority.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Linda Guo
Intellectual Property
3.Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of Invention Patents Filed by Female Applicants implemented for One Year Starting from 1 July 2025
On 17 June 2025, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced to launch the “Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of Invention Patents Filed by Female Applicants” (this Program), which aims to provide accelerated examination services for invention patent applications filed by female applicants. The Program will be implemented for one year starting from 1 July 2025. We summarize below:
(1) The Program applies only to any invention patent application in which the applicant is a female natural person. Specifically, the applicant or at least one of the applicants must be a female natural person who is also the inventor or one of the inventors.
(2) The request for accelerated examination under this Program shall be submitted through the electronic filing system after a notification of entry into substantive examination is received and before the first Office Action is issued. If the eligible female applicant holds the nationality of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the request form must be fulfilled with her Chinese name and National ID number for verification purposes.
(3) Upon approval of the request, TIPO will issue a first Office Action or a notice of allowance within six months.
(4) During the pilot period, TIPO will accept a maximum of 50 requests under this Program. In the first and second months, the maximum number of the requests accepted per month is five (5); and starting from the third month, the maximum number of the requests accepted per month is four (4). If the number of the requests in a given month exceeds the maximum number accepted, applicant(s) shall re-submit the request(s) in the next month. In addition, the same eligible female applicant can submit a maximum of five (5) requests under this Program during the pilot period.
Reported by: Jolene Wang / Shona Li
Insurance
4.Draft amendment to Labor Union Act
On 20 June 2025, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced a ruling pursuant to Subparagraph 13, Paragraph 1, Article 6 and Subparagraph 13, Paragraph 1, Article 7 of the “Regulations Governing Business Solicitation, Policy Underwriting and Claim Adjusting of Insurance Enterprises.” The ruling requires insurance enterprises to incorporate, within their internal procedures and systems for insurance solicitation, a prohibition against inducing proposers to divide a single insurance application into multiple policies for specific purposes, particularly where such division would cause the surrender value of each policy to fall below a certain threshold. Enterprises must also establish corresponding control measures to enforce this requirement.
Reported by: David Tsai / Joe Liao
| Editors: Mike Lu (Partner) Stacy Lo (Partner) Jeffrey Liu (Partner) Kang-Shen Liu (Partner) David Tsai (Partner) Angela Lin (Partner) Paul Hsu (Partner) Alex Li (Partner) | Counselors: Echo Yeh Sue Su Jolene Wang (Lexcel Partners IP Firm) |
