Premier Lin Chuan said Tuesday that there is no reason for the finance minister, Sheu Yu-jer, to step down. The comments come a day after the resignation of the head of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) over its handling of the Mega Bank scandal.
Ding Kung-hwa handed in his notice on Monday. But amid accusations that Ding had been made a scapegoat, Lin said Ding made the decision to resign of his own will. The premier said, "There are many reasons why an administration official may stay or go. Ding said he felt that the criticism of the FSC had been continual and unrelenting and that the best way of resolving the problem would be for him to step down.
The premier said that he had accepted Ding’s resignation on this basis but emphasized that there had been no reason to require his resignation. He said the same applied to the finance minister, Sheu Yu-jer.
In August, New York State’s financial regulator fined the New York branch of Taiwan’s Mega Bank US$180 million for violating anti-money laundering regulations. The bank’s Chicago branch has also been in the news for breaching local trade regulations. President Tsai Ing-wen has said the case has damaged Taiwan’s reputation and sowed doubt in the public mind about supervision of the financial sector.