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Laws and Regulations Database of the Central Bank of the Republic of China-Article Content

Title:The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Act Open new window for Chinese

Announced Date:May 23, 1935

Date:April 27, 2011

[Print]

Chapter I  General Provisions

〈Status of the Bank〉
Article 1
 The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (hereafter called the Bank) shall be a government bank and an agency under the Executive Yuan.

〈Objectives of the Bank's Operations〉
Article 2
 The primary objectives of the Bank's operations shall be:
 1. To promote financial stability;
 2. To guide sound banking operations;
 3. To maintain the stability of the internal and external value of the
   currency;
 4. To foster economic development within the scope of the above
   objectives.

〈Head Office, Branch Offices and Representative Offices〉
Article 3
The Bank shall have its Head Office at the seat of the Central Government and may establish domestic branch offices and representative offices; and, if necessary, may establish representative offices overseas. The establishment and dissolution of branch offices and representative offices shall be authorized by the Board of Directors and reported to the Executive Yuan for approval.

〈Capital of the Bank〉
Article 4
 The capital of the Bank shall be appropriated from the National Treasury.  It shall be fully owned by the Central Government and nontransferable.

Chapter II  Organization

〈Board of Directors〉
Article 5
 The Bank shall have a Board of Directors consisting of eleven to fifteen 
directors to be nominated by the Executive Yuan and appointed by the President 
of the Republic. A Board of Executive Directors composed of five to seven 
executive directors shall be designated among the directors.
 The Governor of the Bank, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of
Economic Affairs shall be ex officio directors and executive directors.
Among the directors, there shall be at least one each from the agricultural,
the industrial and commercial, and the banking sectors.
 Except for the ex officio directors, the directors shall be appointed for a 
term of five years, and may be reappointed upon the expiration of such term.

〈Powers and Functions of the Board of Directors〉
Article 6
 The powers and functions of the Board of Directors shall be as follows:
 1. To examine and approve policies concerning money, credit and foreign 
   exchange;
 2. To examine the adjustment of the Bank's capital;
 3. To approve the operation plans of the Bank;
 4. To examine the budget and fiscal reports of the Bank;
 5. To examine and approve major by-laws and regulations of the Bank;
 6. To examine or approve the establishment, adjustment and dissolution 
   of the Bank's administrative units, branch offices, representative 
   offices and subsidiary institutions;
 7. To approve the appointment and the removal of the heads of the Bank's 
   administrative units, branch offices, representative offices and 
   subsidiary institutions;
 8. To examine matters proposed by the Directors.
 The Board of Directors may delegate all or part of the above powers and
functions to the Board of Executive Directors. The resolution of the
Board of Executive Directors shall be reported to the Board of Directors
for record and approval.
 The Board of Directors shall establish rules and regulations of board
meetings. Such rules and regulations shall be reported to the Executive
Yuan for record.

〈Board of Supervisors〉
Article 7
 The Bank shall have a Board of Supervisors, composed of five to seven
supervisors to be nominated by the Executive Yuan and appointed by the
President of the Republic. The Director-General of Budget, Accounting
and Statistics of the Executive Yuan shall be an ex officio supervisor.
 Except for the ex officio supervisor, the supervisors shall be appointed for a
term of three years andmay be re-appointed upon the expirations of such term.
 The Board of Supervisors shall have a chairman to be elected from among
the supervisors.

〈Powers and Functions of the Board of Supervisors〉
Article 8
 The powers and functions of the Board of Supervisors shall be as follows:
 1. To examine the Bank's assets and liabilities;
 2. To audit the Bank's accounts;
 3. To examine the reserves for the issuance of currency by the Bank;
 4. To examine the amount of currency issued by the Bank;
 5. To examine and approve the Bank's fiscal reports;
 6. To investigate any case involving violation of this Act and the bylaws
   and regulations of the Bank. The result of such investigation shall be
   referred to the Board of Directors for corrective action.

〈Governor and Deputy Governors〉
Article 9
 The Bank shall have a Governor with the rank of special appointment and 
two Deputy Governors with the rank equivalent to Grade 14, all of whom 
shall be appointed for a term of five years and may be reappointed upon 
the expiration of such term.
 The provision of the preceding paragraph that the rank of Deputy Governor 
is equivalent to Grade 14 shall apply to Deputy Governors appointed after 
the revision of this Act, amended on 8 April 2011, has come into force.

〈Duties of Governor and Deputy Governors〉
Article 10
 The Governor shall be the chief executive in directing and supervising the
operations of the Bank, shall carry out resolutions of the Board of
Directors, and shall represent the Bank on all occasions. The Deputy
Governors shall assist the Governor in the execution of the above duties.
 The Governor shall be the chairman of the Board of Directors and the
Board of Executive Directors.Whenever the Governor is unable to attend
in person, the Deputy Governor designated to act for the Governor shall
be the chairman.

〈Administrative Units and the Ranks and Quotas of the Bank’s Personnel〉
Article 11
 Administrative units established in the Head Office of the Bank shall be 
named as Department or Office.
 The ranks and quotas of the Bank's personnel shall be tabulated separately.

〈Personnel Management〉
Article 11-1
Except for the appointment, removal, remuneration, retirement and indemnity of the Governor and Deputy Governors as specified in this Act and other laws, the regulations for the appointment, dismissal, remuneration, bonus, welfare, performance rating, incentives and discipline, retirement, indemnity, severance and other personnel management matters related to the Bank's personnel shall be proposed by the Bank, authorized by the Board of Directors and reported to the Executive Yuan for approval.

Chapter III  Operations

〈Business Counterparties〉
Article 12
 Unless otherwise specified by law, the Bank's operations shall be
circumscribed to business with the following organizations:
 1. Government agencies.
 2. Banks and other financial institutions.
 3. International and foreign financial institutions.

〈Issuance of National Currency〉
Article 13
 The currency of the Republic of China shall be issued by the Bank.
 The currency issued by the Bank shall be the national currency, and shall be
legal tender for all payments within the territory of the Republic of China.
 The Bank shall establish plants under its management to carry out the
printing and minting of the currency.

〈Delegation of Issuance of National Currency〉
Article 14
 The Bank may, whenever necessary, delegate other government banks to issue currency in designated regions on its behalf, to be regarded as national currency. The assets and liabilities pertaining to the issuance of such currency shall be for the account of the Bank.

〈Specifications of Notes and Coins〉
Article 15
 The basic monetary unit of the national currency is Yuan and the
subsidiary currencies are Chiou and Fen. Ten Fens equal to one Chiou
and ten Chious equal to one Yuan.
 The denomination, composition, form, and pattern of the notes and coins
issued by the Bank shall be proposed by the Bank, for approval by the
Executive Yuan.
 The Bank shall make public the specifications of notes and coins prior to
issuance.

〈Reserves against Currency Issuance〉
Article 16
  Against currency issued by the Bank and its delegated banks, reserves in
full equivalent value shall be maintained in gold, silver, foreign
exchange, and eligible bills and securities.
 The issuance of coins shall be exempt from reserves.

〈Publication of the Amount and Reserve Status of Currency〉
Article 17
 The amount and reserve status of currency issued by the Bank and its delegated banks shall be made public in regular intervals.

〈Exchange and Redemption of Currency〉
Article 18
 The Bank shall exchange stained or damaged notes and coins deemed to
be unfit for circulation in accordance with certain standards, and destroy
them according to law.
 The Bank may redeem currency issued. Currency redeemed shall no
longer be legal tender. However, the redemption period shall not be less
than one year, during which time holders may exchange redeemed
currency with the Bank.
(Maximum Amount of National Currency Carried into or out of the Territory 
of the ROC)
Article 18-1
 The maximum amount of national currency that may be carried or mailed
into or out of the territory of the Republic of China shall be prescribed by
the Bank.
 Currency in excess of the aforesaid maximum can not be transported
from into or out of the territory.

〈Handling of Counterfeit or Altered Currency〉
Article 18-2
 When financial institutions or other enterprises which are authorized to engage in foreign exchange operations receive counterfeit or falsified national currency or foreign currency, they shall retain, void and destroy those currencies, save that suspicion of criminal involvement shall be reported to the judicial authority. Regulations on handling counterfeit or falsified currency shall be stipulated by the Bank.

〈Issuance of Gold and Silver Coins and Commemorative Notes and Coins〉
Article 18-3
 The Bank may issue gold and silver coins and commemorative notes and
coins. Regulations governing the issuance of gold and silver coins and
commemorative notes and coins shall be stipulated by the Bank.
 The sale or resale price of aforesaid notes and coins may be higher than
their denomination.

〈Accommodations〉
Article 19
 The Bank may provide the following accommodations to banks:
 1. Rediscounts of eligible bills, with maturity not exceeding 90 days
   for industrial and commercial bills, and 180 days for agricultural
   bills.
 2. Temporary advances not exceeding 10 days.
 3. Refinancing of secured loans not exceeding 360 days.
 The Bank may impose limits on rediscounts or other accommodations to
banks.

〈Establishment of Funds〉
Article 20
 The Bank, in order to assist economic development, may establish various funds, using savings deposits re-deposited by financial institutions and other special funds to refinance medium and long-term loans disbursed by banks.
(Publication of the Interest Rates of the Bank's Rediscounts and other 
Accommodations)
Article 21
 The interest rates of the Bank's rediscounts and other accommodations
shall be determined by the Bank in the light of prevailing financial and
economic conditions, and made public. However, a branch office of the Bank
may establish its own interest rates on rediscounts and accommodations
according to special local financial conditions, with prior approval by the
Head Office, and make them public.

〈Exception Management on the Interest Rates of Banks’ Deposits and Loans〉
Article 22
 The Bank may, at its discretion and in the light of financial and economic conditions, prescribe an upper limit for the interest rates of bank deposits, and approve the range of interest rates on bank loans as proposed by the Bankers Association of the Republic of China.

〈Deposit Reserve Ratios〉
Article 23
 The Bank shall receive and keep reserves against deposits and other
liabilities of banks which are regulated by Banking Law of the Republic
of China, and may, at its discretion, adjust various deposit and other
liability reserve ratios under the following maximum limits in accordance
with the regulation governing adjustment and audit thereof, which shall
be stipulated by the Bank:
 1. Checking deposits: 25%
 2. Demand deposits: 25%
 3. Savings deposits: 15%
 4. Time deposits: 15%
 5. Other liabilities: 25%
 The scope of aforesaid other liabilities shall be prescribed by the Bank.
 The Bank may, whenever necessary and from a specific date, impose on
the increment of the checking deposits, demand deposits and other
liabilities, a marginal reserve ratio which shall not be bound by the
maximum limits on paragraph 1 of this Article.
 The Bank may charge the banks having insufficient reserves, on the
portion of the shortfall, a penalty interest rate not higher than two times
of that prescribed in Article 21 on unsecured temporary advances as
stated in subparagraph 2, paragraph 1 of Article 19.

〈Reserves for Indemnity Deposited by Investment and Trust Companies〉
Article 24
 The Bank shall, in conformity with law, receive and keep reserves for indemnity deposited by investment and trust companies.

〈Minimum Ratio of Banks’ Liquid Assets to Liabilities〉
Article 25
 The Bank, after consulting with the Ministry of Finance, may at its discretion, prescribe for banks a minimum ratio of their liquid assets to various liabilities.

〈Open Market Operations – Purchasing and Selling Bonds〉
Article 26
 The Bank may, in the light of financial conditions, purchase and sell in the open market the bonds issued or guaranteed by the government, financial bonds issued by banks and bills accepted or guaranteed by banks.

〈Open Market Operations - Issuing Certificates of Deposits and Savings Bonds〉
Article 27
 The Bank may, for the purpose of regulating monetary conditions, issue certificates of deposits, savings bonds and short-term bonds, and may purchase and sell them in the open market.

〈Credit Control - Maximum Loanable Ratios of Secured Loans〉
Article 28
 The Bank may, whenever necessary, prescribe maximum loanable ratios selectively on the items used as collateral or mortgage of secured loans extended by banks.

〈Credit Control - Amount of Down-payment and Term of Credit〉
Article 29
 The Bank may, whenever necessary, prescribe and regulate the amount of down-payment and the term of credit extended by banks for the purchase or construction of buildings and the purchase of durable consumer goods.
(Administration of Accommodations Extended by Banks to Securities Finance 
Companies or Securities Firms)
Article 30
 The Bank shall prescribe and regulate the accommodations extended by
banks to securities dealers and securities finance companies.

〈Credit Control - Maximum Limit on Credit Lines〉
Article 31
 The Bank may, whenever it deems that the monetary and credit conditions so warrant, prescribe a maximum limit for the amount of various kinds of credit extended by all, or any category of, financial institutions.

〈Exchange of Negotiable Instruments and Clearance of Accounts among Banks〉
Article 32
 The Bank shall establish a clearing house for checks and settlement of accounts among banks at the sites of Head Office or branch offices. The Bank may delegate a government bank to carry out this function in places where the Bank has no branch office. Regulations governing checks clearance and settlement of accounts among banks shall be stipulated by the Bank.

〈International Monetary Reserves and its Management〉
Article 33
 The Bank shall hold international monetary reserves, and undertake the overall management of foreign exchange.

〈Adjustment of the Demand for and Supply of Foreign Exchange〉
Article 34
 The Bank may, in the light of the balance of payments situation, take measures to adjust the demand for and supply of foreign exchange with a view to maintaining an orderly foreign exchange market.

〈Foreign Exchange Operations〉
Article 35
 The Bank shall undertake the following foreign exchange operations:
 1. To draw up plans for foreign exchange management and on
   anticipated receipts and payments;
 2. To authorize and supervise banks and other enterprises engaged in
   foreign exchange operations;
 3. To settle the purchase and sale of foreign exchange;
 4. To examine and approve private outward and inward remittances;
 5. To supervise private enterprises' foreign borrowings guaranteed by
   authorized banks, with reference to their management and their
   repayment schedule;
 6. To purchase and sell foreign currencies, bills of exchange and
   securities;
 7. To calculate, compile, analyse and report the receipts and payments
   of foreign exchange;
 8. Other operations relating to foreign exchange.
 Regulations governing requirements of application, the examination
procedure, approval of authorization, the scope of foreign operations,
withdrawal of authorization, and other matters which banks and other
enterprises applying to engage in foreign exchange operations must
comply with, shall be stipulated by the Bank.

〈Fiscal Agency and Depository Services for National Treasury〉
Article 36
 The Bank shall effect the operations of the National Treasury and manage
the National Treasury's cash accounts. It shall also manage the Central
Governmental agencies' cash accounts, bills, securities, including
receipts and payments, safekeeping and transfers, and the safekeeping of
their other asset documents.
 The Bank may delegate, whenever necessary, the operations mentioned above
to other financial institutions in places where the Bank has no branch office.

〈Floatation and Redemption of Government Bonds and Treasury Bills〉
Article 37
 The Bank shall undertake the floatation and the redemption of government bonds, issued domestically or abroad, and treasury bills. The Bank may delegate, whenever necessary, the above to other financial institutions.

〈Financial Examination〉
Article 38
 In conformity with the powers and functions authorized by this Act, the Bank, 
if necessary, may undertake the inspection of the operations of financial 
institutions and the targeted examination of such operations as outlined in 
Chapter 3 of this Act; and may direct financial institutions to prepare and 
submit, within a prescribed period of time, accurate financial reports, 
property inventories or other relevant documents and reports.
 If the responsible person(s) or staff member(s) of a financial institution 
or its branch office commits any of the following acts when the Bank dispatches 
officials to inspect or examine its operations, or directs the financial 
institution to prepare and submit accurate financial reports, property 
inventories or other relevant documents and reports in accordance with the 
preceding paragraph, the financial institution or its branch office shall 
be liable to an administrative fine of Two Million New Taiwan Dollars 
(NT$2,000,000) to Ten Million New Taiwan Dollars (NT$10,000,000), imposed 
by the Bank:
 1. Refusing to be inspected or examined;
 2. Concealing or destroying account books and documents related to business 
   or financial conditions;
 3. Refusing to reply or providing false information to inquiries made by the 
   examiner without justifiable reasons;
 4. Failure to provide accurate and complete financial reports, property 
   inventories or other relevant documents or reports in a timely manner.
 The financial institution or its branch office shall seek recourse from the 
responsible person after paying such administrative fines.

〈Economic Research〉
Article 39
 To coordinate the formulation of monetary policies and the execution of financial operations, the Bank shall regularly collect economic information, compile financial statistics and conduct monetary and economic research.

Chapter IV  Budgets and Fiscal Reports

〈Budgets〉
Article 40
 Before the beginning of each fiscal year, the Bank shall prepare a draft budget for examination and adoption by the Board of Directors, the adopted budget shall be processed in accordance with the Budgeting Law.

〈Fiscal Reports〉
Article 41
 After the close of each fiscal year, the Bank shall prepare fiscal reports for examination and adoption by the Board of Directors. The adopted reports shall be examined and approved by the Board of Supervisors, and processed in accordance with the Fiscal Reporting Law.

〈Legal Reserve〉
Article 42
 At the close of each fiscal year, the Bank shall set aside fifty per cent of its net profit as legal reserve. In case the amount of the accumulated legal reserve equal or exceed of the Bank's current capital, the percentage herein prescribed may, subject to the resolution of the Board of Directors and the concurrence of the Board of Supervisors, be reduced to a level no lower than twenty per cent.

〈Accounting for the Gain or Loss from the Change of Exchange Rate〉
Article 43
 The gain or loss from the Bank's assets or liabilities denominated in gold,
silver, foreign currencies and other forms of international reserve,
resulted from changes in parity of the national currency, or changes in the
value, parity or exchange rate of these assets and liabilities relative to
the national currency, shall not be listed in the Bank's annual income
stateatement.
 Any gain from the above changes shall be posted in the Exchange Reserve
Account, and any loss shall be offset in the balance of that Account.

Chapter V   Appendix

〈Effective Date〉
Article 44
 This Act shall become effective on the date of promulgation.
 The effective date of the Article 23 amendment shall be prescribed by
the Executive Yuan.
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