FSC: Civil Case Against Bills Finance Corp. Independent Director Does Not Trigger Disqualification

Several minority shareholders of Bills Finance Corp. (BFC) have raised concerns regarding the eligibility of the newly appointed independent director, Chen Wei-lung. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) stated today that the case involving Chen is a civil matter and does not apply to the criminal disqualification criteria for directors of financial institutions; therefore, the FSC will not intervene. BFC held its shareholders' meeting on May 29th to elect new directors. During the meeting, several minority shareholders questioned whether Chen was suitable for the position, citing a court ruling that he had bullied a professional manager. The then-chairman, Wei Chi-lin, stated that the shareholders' comments and the court judgment would be submitted to the regulator for determination. Wang Yun-chung, Deputy Director-General of the Banking Bureau, explained at a press conference that there are clear criteria for the qualifications of financial institution directors. 'Negative qualifications involve morality; if a criminal conviction is finalized, the company can revoke the qualification.' Wang further clarified that the case in question is a civil dispute, which is distinct from criminal cases, and therefore does not trigger the disqualification criteria. Regarding the search of BFC Securities by the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office yesterday, Deputy Director-General of the Securities and Futures Bureau Huang Chung-hao stated that due to the principle of non-disclosure of investigations, he would not comment.