Environmental Education Site
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Principles for Ethical
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Management and
Guidelines for Conduct
Corporate Governance
Best Practice Principles
Best Practice Principles
Guidance on Corporate
Social Responsibility
Social Responsibility
External Directors account for 80% of all Directors and female Directors account for 53%. 3 of the 5 independent Directors are women, and female independent Director serves as the convener of the audit committee. In 2022, the Board was convened 12 times and average attendance by all Directors reached 98.86% (100% if attendance by proxy is included). The actual attendance rate of individual Directors also exceeded 80%.
In order to improve the management system of intellectual property, First Bank passed the Taiwan Intellectual Property Management System (TIPS) A-level verification of patents and trademarks by Industrial Development Bureau, MOEA in 2022 again.
First Bank signed and joined the Equator Principles (EPs) Association in 2020. The bank has approved 9 cases involving the Equator Principle from 2021-2022. The cases were all located in Taiwan, mainly in the power industry in projects such as solar energy, renewable energy, gas, and offshore wind energy. In addition, four taskforces under the Green Finance Committee: "Sustainable Lending," "Sustainable Investment," "Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD)” and "Carbon Disclosure," incorporate climate-related risks into the company’s overall risk assessment framework and convene quarterly meetings to give the Committee a report on implementation progress.
The Group has established the sustainable credit, sustainable investments, and sustainable insurance policies. The fulfillment of ESG investigation procedures encompass all businesses from investments, financing, consulting, and insurance. Continuing improvements to the ESG Factor Review Mechanism inspects whether the enterprises that are invested into or financed have violated criteria in product sustainability, human rights, environmental protection, and major social controversies while also incorporating coal and atypical oil and gas industries into review. Additionally, the Coalition of Movers and Shakers on Sustainable Finance was formed with 5 major industry peers to reinforce the negotiation mechanisms for enterprise investments and financing. If the enterprise seeking investments or financing is in major violation and does not submit an improvement plan after negotiations, investment and financing positions will gradually decrease. Our active guidance of customers to focus on issues of sustainability will hopefully support the goal of net zero in 2050.
Published the 2022 Sustainability Report in Chinese and English in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative Standards (2021 GRI Standards) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and obtain third-party assurance to increase the quality of information disclosure on ESG.
FFHC's 2021 and 2022 TCFD reports obtained the highest level certification of "LEVEL-5+" by the British Standards Institute (BSI), which is the first case in the financial industry.
FFHC was selected for inclusion as a constituent in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for 5 years in a row.
FFHC was selected into the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook 6 times, ranking in the top 1% of global banks.
FFHC was rated as a top 5% listed company in the TWSE Corporate Governance Evaluation for the 8th time. Top 10% (Top 4) of listed company in financial category for the 3rd time.
FFHC was awarded the highest rating of AAA in ESG ratings for the banking sector by MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI Index).
In order to improve the management system of intellectual property, First Bank passed the Taiwan Intellectual Property Management System (TIPS) A-level verification of patents and trademarks by Industrial Development Bureau, MOEA in 2022 again.
First Bank signed and joined the Equator Principles (EPs) Association in 2020. The bank has approved 9 cases involving the Equator Principle from 2021-2022. The cases were all located in Taiwan, mainly in the power industry in projects such as solar energy, renewable energy, gas, and offshore wind energy. In addition, four taskforces under the Green Finance Committee: "Sustainable Lending," "Sustainable Investment," "Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD)” and "Carbon Disclosure," incorporate climate-related risks into the company’s overall risk assessment framework and convene quarterly meetings to give the Committee a report on implementation progress.
The Group has established the sustainable credit, sustainable investments, and sustainable insurance policies. The fulfillment of ESG investigation procedures encompass all businesses from investments, financing, consulting, and insurance. Continuing improvements to the ESG Factor Review Mechanism inspects whether the enterprises that are invested into or financed have violated criteria in product sustainability, human rights, environmental protection, and major social controversies while also incorporating coal and atypical oil and gas industries into review. Additionally, the Coalition of Movers and Shakers on Sustainable Finance was formed with 5 major industry peers to reinforce the negotiation mechanisms for enterprise investments and financing. If the enterprise seeking investments or financing is in major violation and does not submit an improvement plan after negotiations, investment and financing positions will gradually decrease. Our active guidance of customers to focus on issues of sustainability will hopefully support the goal of net zero in 2050.
Published the 2022 Sustainability Report in Chinese and English in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative Standards (2021 GRI Standards) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and obtain third-party assurance to increase the quality of information disclosure on ESG.
FFHC's 2021 and 2022 TCFD reports obtained the highest level certification of "LEVEL-5+" by the British Standards Institute (BSI), which is the first case in the financial industry.
FFHC was selected for inclusion as a constituent in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for 5 years in a row.
FFHC was selected into the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook 6 times, ranking in the top 1% of global banks.
FFHC was rated as a top 5% listed company in the TWSE Corporate Governance Evaluation for the 8th time. Top 10% (Top 4) of listed company in financial category for the 3rd time.
FFHC was awarded the highest rating of AAA in ESG ratings for the banking sector by MSCI All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI Index).
Received the "Master Award" in the "Fourth National Enterprise Environmental Protection Awards", becoming the first enterprise to collect the award for consecutive four times.
The "Green Finance Education Hall" at Wanhua Branch became the first in the finance industry to receive the "Environmental Education Site" certification. FFHC partnered with the social innovation organization to launch four courses on green finance and environmental education. We hosted 27 sessions of courses with a total of 718 participants.
The Green Light Sustainability Program has made donations to a total of 7 social welfare organizations and 44 remote elementary schools, and replaced 13,106 sets of LED lamps, reducing carbon emissions by about 597 metric tons.
As of the end of 2022, the cumulative approved domestic and foreign green financing projects has reached NT$19.31 billion. First Bank also launched the “Sustainable Performance Linked Loan Project”, offering preferential interest rates to companies with improved environmental performance indicators. The project approved 49 accounts with a total of NT$62.6 billion to encourage corporate creditors to set long-term business policies for low-carbon transformation.
The Group has adopted the absolute reduction method to limit warming to 1.5℃ per SBT goals. It has set the goal that the combined annual amount of carbon emissions from Scope 1 and Scope 2 shall be 4.2% less than that in the benchmark year (2021).
FFHC won international recognition with the "A" score 4 times in the CDP climate change questionnaire, and has been ranked "Leadership Level" for 5 consecutive years.
The "Green Finance Education Hall" at Wanhua Branch became the first in the finance industry to receive the "Environmental Education Site" certification. FFHC partnered with the social innovation organization to launch four courses on green finance and environmental education. We hosted 27 sessions of courses with a total of 718 participants.
The Green Light Sustainability Program has made donations to a total of 7 social welfare organizations and 44 remote elementary schools, and replaced 13,106 sets of LED lamps, reducing carbon emissions by about 597 metric tons.
As of the end of 2022, the cumulative approved domestic and foreign green financing projects has reached NT$19.31 billion. First Bank also launched the “Sustainable Performance Linked Loan Project”, offering preferential interest rates to companies with improved environmental performance indicators. The project approved 49 accounts with a total of NT$62.6 billion to encourage corporate creditors to set long-term business policies for low-carbon transformation.
The Group has adopted the absolute reduction method to limit warming to 1.5℃ per SBT goals. It has set the goal that the combined annual amount of carbon emissions from Scope 1 and Scope 2 shall be 4.2% less than that in the benchmark year (2021).
FFHC won international recognition with the "A" score 4 times in the CDP climate change questionnaire, and has been ranked "Leadership Level" for 5 consecutive years.
First Bank received awards "Hospice Trust Award Group A - 1st Place" and "Best Trust Award - 2nd Place".
First Bank has remained the number one bank in Taiwan in terms of SME lending market share for 13 years in a row, and earned "Bailout Award" and "COVID-19 Insurance Projects" from Financial Supervisory Commission.
With a total of 10,095 employees as of the end of 2022, FFHC was included in the "Taiwan Employment Creation 99 Index" for the 13th consecutive year.
Our annual salary is in the P65 range of the market (P65 means our standard of compensation is superior to 65% of our competitors). After a comprehensive 2022 salary adjustment of 4% as well as average adjustments of 6.5% for promotions, the average salary of full-time employees in non-managerial roles is NT$1,337,000 with 3.3% growth. Total expenditure for employee benefits in 2022 was NT$17.82 billion with 2.8% increase. FFHC has been selected as "Taiwan High Compensation 100 Index" for 9 consecutive years.
The average salary and remuneration of female executives are higher than those of males, and female senior executives account for 50.2%. FFHC has been selected as a constituent stock in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI).
FFHC provides NT$100,000 for the first child and NT$150,000 for the second child and every child thereafter. Child birth subsidy of NT$25.15 million was disbursed in 2022, contributing to the birth of 1,452 babies as of the end of 2022.
"Disclosure of Occupational Health and Safety Indicators in Sustainability Reporting - Top 10% Excellent Enterprise in the Financial Sector" from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor.
First Bank has remained the number one bank in Taiwan in terms of SME lending market share for 13 years in a row, and earned "Bailout Award" and "COVID-19 Insurance Projects" from Financial Supervisory Commission.
With a total of 10,095 employees as of the end of 2022, FFHC was included in the "Taiwan Employment Creation 99 Index" for the 13th consecutive year.
Our annual salary is in the P65 range of the market (P65 means our standard of compensation is superior to 65% of our competitors). After a comprehensive 2022 salary adjustment of 4% as well as average adjustments of 6.5% for promotions, the average salary of full-time employees in non-managerial roles is NT$1,337,000 with 3.3% growth. Total expenditure for employee benefits in 2022 was NT$17.82 billion with 2.8% increase. FFHC has been selected as "Taiwan High Compensation 100 Index" for 9 consecutive years.
The average salary and remuneration of female executives are higher than those of males, and female senior executives account for 50.2%. FFHC has been selected as a constituent stock in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI).
FFHC provides NT$100,000 for the first child and NT$150,000 for the second child and every child thereafter. Child birth subsidy of NT$25.15 million was disbursed in 2022, contributing to the birth of 1,452 babies as of the end of 2022.
"Disclosure of Occupational Health and Safety Indicators in Sustainability Reporting - Top 10% Excellent Enterprise in the Financial Sector" from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor.
We have refurbished 31 existing buildings, which obtained the Green Building Label from the Ministry of the Interior (Diamond class for 28 buildings, Copper class for 1 building, and Certified for 2 buildings). 2 newly constructed buildings obtained the “Gold-class” Green Building Label. Our London Branch received the “Pass” green building rating in the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) assessment. A total of 34 green buildings have been refurbished.
"ISO 14064-1 Greenhouse Gas Inventory System" certification was obtained for all domestic and foreign company locations.
"ISO 50001 Energy Management System" certification was obtained for all domestic company locations.
"ISO 14001 Environmental Management System" certification was obtained for all domestic company locations.
"ISO 14046 - Water Footprint" certification was obtained for 8 domestic company locations.
Introduced “ISO 46001 Water Efficiency Management Systems” at the headquarters building.
First Bank, First Securities, First Securities Investment Trust, First Life Insurance and First Financial AMC all introduced to "ISO 14064-1 Scope 3 (Indirect emissions from transportation - business travel)" and had been verified.
All domestic company locations introduced to "ISO 14064-1 Category 4 (Indirect emissions caused by disposal of business waste)" and had been verified.
First Bank Yung-Ho Branch and Wanhua Branch received the "Product Carbon Footprint Reduction Label" certification.
First Bank Head Office Business Department and Wanhua Branch obtained "Product Carbon Footprint Label" certification.
First Bank Wanhua Branch obtained the "environmental education site" certification.
6 employees obtained the "Environmental Educator Qualifications" certification.
"ISO 14064-1 Greenhouse Gas Inventory System" certification was obtained for all domestic and foreign company locations.
"ISO 50001 Energy Management System" certification was obtained for all domestic company locations.
"ISO 14001 Environmental Management System" certification was obtained for all domestic company locations.
"ISO 14046 - Water Footprint" certification was obtained for 8 domestic company locations.
Introduced “ISO 46001 Water Efficiency Management Systems” at the headquarters building.
First Bank, First Securities, First Securities Investment Trust, First Life Insurance and First Financial AMC all introduced to "ISO 14064-1 Scope 3 (Indirect emissions from transportation - business travel)" and had been verified.
All domestic company locations introduced to "ISO 14064-1 Category 4 (Indirect emissions caused by disposal of business waste)" and had been verified.
First Bank Yung-Ho Branch and Wanhua Branch received the "Product Carbon Footprint Reduction Label" certification.
First Bank Head Office Business Department and Wanhua Branch obtained "Product Carbon Footprint Label" certification.
First Bank Wanhua Branch obtained the "environmental education site" certification.
6 employees obtained the "Environmental Educator Qualifications" certification.
Chairman's Message
In 2022, as the world gradually decided to coexist with Covid, prevailing factors including geopolitical risk, the global spread of inflation, and sagging international trade volumes set the stage for the global economy to enter a prolonged post-Covid recuperation period. The Group has nevertheless sought to strengthen its operating resilience on its solid foundation by actively creating new post-pandemic growth momentum; internally, the Group will combine core business with ESG factors, and continue to focus on innovation in financial technology and manpower training; externally, it will actively comply with government policy, and influence customers and industry to reduce carbon emissions and pursue sustainable development. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the Group's employees, our assets surpassed NT$4.16 trillion in 2022, and consolidated earnings reached NT$67.756 billion; net earnings after tax totaled NT$20.596 billion, which represented annual growth of 4.34% and set a new record, while consolidated ROE and ROA were 9.18% and 0.52%, respectively, and the earnings per share after tax was NT$1.56.
