Stephany Kim-Chohan, Assistant Vice President & Branch Manager, CTBC Bank
Community banks are the lifeblood of small businesses and local economic activity. For CTBC Bank, its strong ties to Taiwan allow it to stay nimble and meet the lending needs of clients thanks to the support of its parent company. In an interview with Invest:, Stephany Kim-Chohan, assistant vice president and branch manager for CTBC Bank, highlights the advantages of being an international bank and its efforts to support the local Edison community and beyond.
What have been the most significant changes for the bank’s operation in the past year?
For CTBC Bank, this is the only location in New Jersey. We have two other locations in New York, and the rest are on the West Coast. In contrast to other banks, our parent company is in Taiwan, which makes us an international bank. Typically, when it comes to highs or lows in lending, many U.S.-based banks are looking for deposits due to the shifts in interest rates. Rates have risen from 2% to more than 6% in the last few years, which puts a strain on the banks as it relates to meeting the deposits. Deposits are needed in order to lend. The advantage of being an international bank is that the parent company can move deposits to assist with liquidity. Our parent company has more than $290 billion in assets. This enables us to meet our clients’ lending needs when other banks may not be able to and gives us an upper hand compared to our peers.
What differentiates your service models from other community banks?
Thinking about the New Jersey market, we are one of the few Asian American banks to operate on both coasts. Our client base is mostly Chinese-Taiwanese Nationals. Currently, we have two special products we lend via mortgages and specialty solutions to foreign nationals. If a client is relocating to the United States and needs a mortgage, for example, we keep those loans in-house and can service foreign nationals and temporary residents in the area. Other institutions stopped this model due to regulations and compliance, but in our case, this is one of our niche specialties. We are also focused on helping businesses in low to moderate-income areas via microloans. In Middlesex County and nearby areas, we offer business lines of credit that help businesses in their day-to-day operations while helping us meet our CRA commitments.
What industry trends are you evaluating and monitoring?
For us, rates are always a competitive strength. It also comes back to being able to meet our clients’ lending needs. If you can lend to businesses, it helps foster and build relationships. Of course, there will always be clients who are looking for the most competitive interest rates. We aim to retain clients and their deposits. We aim to serve and meet the needs of our clients. We also have a wealth management side of the operations and aim to assist clients in that space.
How is the bank leveraging technology in its operations?
We have been ahead of the curve when it comes to technology investments. Since our parent company is in Taiwan, we provide global international transfers. Clients love it. They can transfer funds free of cost directly from their phones. It is akin to an international wire that they can use right from our mobile banking app. The great thing is that New Jersey leaders have traveled over to Taiwan and have an office there for people who want to do business in the state, which is a big plus. We provide all the mobile banking solutions. We are part of the Allpoint Network, where clients can use ATMs free of charge. We want to keep the personal touch. Other banks have slimmed down and even removed tellers in some locations. For us we want to provide that personal touch with our clients, which is the backbone of a community bank.
What industry challenges is the bank evaluating at the moment?
For us, this location has been open for approximately 30 years. We are in the heart of South Edison, which has become a micro-Chinatown, where we resonate with the Chinese-Taiwanese population. Now, it is time for us to spread outside of that market and reach everyone, especially with some of our products that can help other community demographics. Being so closely tied to the Chinese market, we have been monitoring the situation related to tariffs. We have also maintained close communication with our clients as a result, making sure we have all the up-to-date information. We have not had major issues so far, but it is something that we are certainly keeping a close eye on, and it has been a bit of a challenge for us.
What is the outlook for your operations and the banking industry at large for the next few years?
It depends on the new state administration that will come next year. When our outgoing governor began his term, he had ideas about a public bank, and that idea did not get too much traction over time. We will need to monitor this and see where it goes, especially for state-chartered banks and national banks, and how it will impact the industry on a day-to-day basis. It will be interesting to see how the next administration will do with this.
For CTBC Bank, growth is a big priority. New Jersey is growing stronger ties with Taiwan, so expansion outside of the Edison market will be huge for operations. Growth in deposits and growth beyond our traditional market, and pushing our products and services, will be important. We want to let other communities know that we can assist them as well. We are one of the strongest banks locally, and having a presence on the East and West Coasts gives us a leg up.
