As early as 2008, Bank SinoPac launched a reengineering initiative to heighten its responsiveness to domestic and overseas changes. Emphasis was placed on innovating its products and services so that the bank could upgrade customer services both in scope and depth. A step taken along those lines was the bank's merger with SinoPac Card Services on June 1, 2009. What results are significantly expanded economies of scale and synergies in the form of cross-selling of banking, securities, credit card, bancassurance, and investment trust offerings. Further headway in organizational restructuring was made in 2010 as the bank set up an Electronic Banking Division that is charged with devising the bank's technology strategy, consolidating all electronic channels, and integrating innovative R&D of electronic products. Meanwhile, an Overseas Business Division came into being as the bank sought to formulate a better-rounded roadmap for its push across national boundaries and thus enhance the weighting of overseas income. To attain these goals, the division makes it a point to persistently engage in financial dealings and promote the bank's big variety of products abroad. Combined, a solid customer base, stringent risk control and management, sound asset quality, and a comprehensive service network have enabled the bank to stay ahead of peers and will sustain its ascension to higher ground going forward.

At the end of 2010, Bank SinoPac registered NT$1,106.9 billion of assets and over NT$65.9 billion in shareholders' equity. Against NT$915.5 billion in deposits, loans and credit lines totaled NT$695.7 billion and NT$740.2 billion respectively. The BIS ratio came in at 12.80% on a consolidated basis. For 2010, the bank posted net income of NT$3.50 billion, translating into earnings of NT$0.90 per share on a pretax basis, an after-tax EPS of NT$0.72 and a 5.46% return on equity. Separately, the bank recorded a 0.52% non-performing loan ratio and an 145.77% loan-loss coverage ratio.

Bank SinoPac's outstanding balance of corporate lending came in at NT$377.8 billion at the end of 2010. Its overseas expansion over the years paid off as 40% of such credit was extended in foreign currencies. The bank also handled NT$153.0 billion of factoring services and US$171.6 billion of forex transactions, both of which commanded a significant market share in Taiwan. Building on its solid foundation in extending financing to small and medium-sized enterprises, Bank SinoPac is keen to make optimal use of the government's Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund. In 2010, Bank SinoPac secured loan guarantee for a total of NT$56.3 billion from the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund, a 52% surge from a year earlier. Given this extraordinary performance, the Fund accorded the bank its Credit Guarantee Partnership Award and Guaranteed Credits Collection Award. Bank SinoPac established a milestone for its syndicated lending business in 2010 as it acted as mandated lead arranger and facility agent of Taiwan's second largest syndicated loan to Wealth Media Co., Ltd. a NT$52.4 billion loan facility second only to "Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.". With its proliferation of overseas outlets, the bank has also brought cross-continent corporate banking services to many corners of the world where there are a significant number of Taiwan businesses. In particular, the CrossPacific Account (CPA) platform has provided corporate customers cross-region cash management and financing services. Separately, while Taiwan companies have been building supply chains all over the world, the bank has drawn from its Factoring by Insurance (FBI) program to bring down costs for delivering factoring services abroad. And now Bank SinoPac is able to command leadership in the domestic banking industry when it comes to supply-chain financing. As the Mainland China market makes itself increasingly accessible in the days ahead, Bank SinoPac is poised to expand further domestically and overseas at the same time so that it can build better-equipped, cross-border platforms and turn itself into a cross-continental international bank.

Bank SinoPac had an outstanding balance of over NT$350 billion in mortgage loans for 2010. In terms of personal lending, Bank SinoPac will always stand by its long cherished principle of staying cautious and meticulous-placing equal emphasis on quantity and quality. Taking into account both risk and profitability, it will also pursue reasonable growth while maintaining an optimal level of personal loans. As it is geared mainly toward niche markets and target clients, the bank will also conduct database analysis to identify promising, quality customers. In addition, a variety of systematized pre-lending assessment and post-lending management tools are adopted as the bank seeks to identify promising, quality customers and uphold the quality of personal loans. Above all, Bank SinoPac will make better use of its comprehensive network of services in further penetrating communities throughout the country so as to steadily grow personal lending operations. With all the resources of the SinoPac Group pooled together, Bank SinoPac's "full function branches" throughout Taiwan are best-positioned to build on the existing customer base for the purpose of promoting a full spectrum of product lines. Top priority will certainly be granted to meeting the demands of the bank's target customers. By expanding and deepening dealings with customers on all fronts, the bank believes it can solidify customer loyalty and forge a closer relationship with them over the long term.

An avid participant in financial transactions across global markets, Bank SinoPac's Financial Markets Division provides customers with a full spectrum of tools for hedging and investment. With a well-rounded platform for trading currencies and their derivatives, the bank has done exceptionally well on this front and cultivated a solid grasp over trading techniques unmatched by its local peers. This should prove conducive to the bank's development of a wider range of structured products going forward. Moreover, the bank's overseas platform for financial trading is positioned as a center for trading Asian currencies and their derivatives as well as a base for Taiwan businesses to conduct offshore allocations of their capital. As such, it is well-positioned to offer a complete variety of cash flow services to enterprises with operations across the Taiwan Strait. Looking ahead, the bank is ready to better accommodate customer needs by diversifying its product offerings even further. These are set to include hedging tools for the yuan's exchange and interest rates as well as services related to precious metals.

The market improvement from quarter to quarter in 2010 was surely a blessing for Bank SinoPac's wealth management and trust businesses. In total, Bank SinoPac concluded sales of NT$83.6 billion under non-discretionary trusts for domestic mutual funds and overseas securities last year, pushing the outstanding balance to NT$114.0 billion. In 2010, the bank also recorded an outstanding balance of NT$144.8 billion in bond issuances in its capacity as trustee for such exercises. As the custodian bank for securities investment and trust companies that deal in mutual fund businesses in Taiwan, Bank SinoPac had NT$79.4 billion under its custody at the end of 2010. In addition, years of hard work has accorded the bank a premium standing in the domestic market when it comes to handling certification of equities and corporate bonds. At the end of 2010, Bank SinoPac registered an outstanding balance of NT$326.9 billion in all the assets under the management of its trust department. In terms of bancassurance, the bank took in premiums totaling NT$24.0 billion last year. To meet a huge diversity of customer needs, Bank SinoPac's trust department also offers many other trust and custody services: custody for foreign institutions that invest in domestic securities; welfare and savings trust for employees; trust and custody of employee pensions; discretionary account management and custody; real estate trust; securities trust, etc. Last but not least, Bank SinoPac is also keen about serving as a depository bank for TDRs. Above all, Bank SinoPac is set to consolidate investment research resources across the SinoPac Group and further strengthen training of its wealth management consultants. Only thus can it expect to come up with the soundest investment recommendations in the midst of an ever-changing marketplace and help customers calmly tide over whatever unexpected turns of events. Looking ahead, Bank SinoPac will also continue to usher in more wealth management products that are simple, easy to understand, and transparent while taking into account the specific needs of different customers, including their capacity for coping with risks. As such, product innovation will be geared toward presenting different customer segments with tailor-made offerings. Ultimately, the bank is committed to becoming recognized far and wide as a trustworthy wealth management professional; it is dedicated to delivering its promise to customers that its exquisite services will help grow their assets steadily over time.

In consumer banking, Bank SinoPac recorded some NT$16.3 billion in credit card accounts receivable at the end of 2010. To be sure, higher spending by cardholders and lower provisions for defaults thanks to relatively sound asset quality both contributed to growing the bank's bottom line. Alongside a segmented approach toward marketing, the bank is keen to seek cross-sector alliances in the form of co-branded cards and at the same time promote its acquiring business. As for unsecured loans, Bank SinoPac has devised an utterly innovative service, "MMA Bid-Money" that works its way wonderfully through the ever-increasing social networking websites. In a similar spirit, "Bid-Money Funds" is a new unsecured loan offering made available at the branches that are positioned as a "Community Finance Service Station". The bank's MMA Bid-Money service, proudly the first of its kind in the world, allows people to raise funds by means of bidding online. Fully integrating the most up-to-date internet technologies and the bank's expertise on cash flows and well-rounded security mechanisms, this risk-free initiative has been universally acclaimed as an innovative business model. Not only patented in Taiwan (Patent No. 160266), it has also won among other accolades the Golden Award at the 8th "e-21 Golden Net Awards" hosted by the Institute for Information Industry. With three nominations by the 9th Gold Finger Internet Awards, it also walked away with the Silver Finger Award for E-Commerce. When the Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance handed out its 5th Taiwan Banking and Finance Best Practice Awards last year, Bank SinoPac emerged a Merit Award winner of the Best Business Innovation Award for this unique proprietary service. In 2010, the bank took another stride forward as it launched ahead of most peers a display card that doubles as both credit card and ATM card. Drawing on some of the latest technological innovations, this one time password (OTP) display card best demonstrates its value in password verification for transfer of funds to non-designated accounts on a mobile banking platform and in online swipes by MasterCard holders. Both customer satisfaction and trading security are greatly enhanced. Of course, Bank SinoPac will persist with even more product and service innovations going forward.

At present, Bank SinoPac operates 129 branches in Taiwan, including 91 in greater Taipei. As part of its global deployment, it has opened branches in Hong Kong, Kowloon and Macau to better serve Taiwan businesses. A total of 17 outlets around the Pacific Rim, including those in California, U.S.A. and Vietnam, form a comprehensive, powerful service network. Outside greater Taipei, Bank SinoPac has also been actively expanding its service network across major metropolitan areas in central and southern Taiwan. Branch revamping and other endeavors have been undertaken to effectively project a welcoming, professional image. Under the spotlight is a state-of-the-art customer service system that can automatically identify VIP clients, making it possible for branch personnel to accord them courteous reception and priority services in no time. Big-screen LCD TVs are installed on the wall to keep customers informed of the latest happenings in the financial world and all the newest offerings at the bank.

When it comes to services in the virtual world, Bank SinoPac has not only greatly upgraded the user interface of its proprietary "MMA electronic banking platform" but also launched a mobile banking service. These have not only enhanced the efficiency and overall performance of electronic banking but have proven effective in enabling the bank to strengthen account management and bolster customer loyalty. With the aid of the latest information technologies, these constitute an all-encompassing, seamlessly connected service network for which customer satisfaction is the sole objective. The bank's excellent work in this regard did not go unnoticed. In 2010, Bank SinoPac emerged as Best Electronic Banking Merit Award winner, for its well-known platform "Personal Banking-Cloud Computing Financial Service for the Next Generation." All these endeavors towards making a truly comprehensive electronic platform are intended to provide customers with one-stop shopping services and afford them an ever higher quality of living.

In 2010, Standard & Poor's gave Bank SinoPac a BBB long-term rating and an A-2 short-term rating, with a Stable outlook (August 25, 2010). Taiwan Ratings assigned the bank ratings of twA+ and twA-1, also with a Stable outlook (August 25, 2010). Alongside a Stable outlook, Fitch Taiwan assigned Bank SinoPac a BBB long-term issuer default rating, F2 short-term issuer default rating, A+(twn) national long-term rating, and F1+(twn) national short-term rating (October 20, 2010).

On top of its day-to-day business endeavors, Bank SinoPac is an earnest corporate citizen devoted to caring for the less fortunate and supporting cultural and educational causes. In 2010-for a second straight year-it sponsored the Taipei Children's Arts Festival that was hosted by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government with a view to ushering kids into a fun world of the arts. By sponsoring the propaganda of the movie Monga, the bank showed its willingness to help local cinema win wider recognition both at home and abroad. When a strong earthquake hit Yushu in Qinghai Province, China, Bank SinoPac took the lead to donate 2 million yuan for the relief of victimized residents and reconstruction of their homes.

Undoubtedly a challenging future will continue to confront the banking industry. But Bank SinoPac will stand unwaveringly by its motto "Customers always come first." It will also continue its relentless pursuit of sustainable expansion on the back of steady growth in scale, scope and depth. Dedicated to solidifying its roots in Taiwan, the bank will conduct business prudently and efficiently in order to secure a strategic position in the fast-growing Greater China market. Its ultimate objective is to deliver world-class financial services to clients who over time have brought their business to every corner of the globe.