Fubon Financial

In 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic reignited and Russia invaded Ukraine, causing major global economic uncertainty. The adverse effects of these events continue to simmer and exacerbate social divisions and geopolitical tensions. At the same time, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022 identified climate action failure, extreme weather, and biodiversity as the most severe long-term threats facing the world, and warned that risks such as livelihood crises, social cohesion erosion, and infectious diseases are already leading to societal scarring.

Faced with such complicated ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues, Fubon Financial Holdings has joined with its stakeholders to confront these challenges together and stride forward on the path to sustainability.

The company celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021 and unveiled a new brand concept – Be positive, All possible – to reaffirm its commitment to supporting those pursuing a better future with positive energy and comprehensive financial services. It also crafted a fresh sustainability blueprint, themed “Run for Green,” that articulated four main ESG strategies – decarbonization, digitalization, empowerment, and connection – and set 2025 ESG goals. Guided by that blueprint, Fubon has launched a “Run for Green” ESG initiative covering both the financial and non-financial realms that has demonstrated the company’s intent to make its operations more sustainable and establish itself as one of Taiwan’s leaders on sustainability. Meanwhile, we achieved a major milestone in 2021, bringing about Taiwan’s first ever merger of domestic financial holding companies by acquiring Jih Sun Financial Holdings. The move should bolster Fubon’s banking and securities businesses and lead to greater synergies, contributing to an even broader array of financial department store services.

2021 was an outstanding year for Fubon Financial Holdings. It led the financial sector in profitability based on EPS for the 13th consecutive year, and its net income of NT$144.6 billion surpassed the NT$100 billion barrier for the first time in company history. Total assets exceeded NT$10 trillion, helping the company make the Fortune Global 500 for a fourth straight year, and it continued to shine on international sustainability indexes. Fubon was selected to the DJSI World Index for a fifth year in a row and to the DJSI Emerging Markets Index for a sixth straight year, while making the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes for a fifth consecutive year. The Carbon Disclosure Project, meanwhile, has named Fubon to its “A” list and Supplier Engagement Leaderboard two years in a row, and Sustainalytics ranked it third in the global insurance industry in its ESG risk ratings. These many honors have encouraged and inspired Fubon to further enhance its sustainable practices and relentlessly pursue excellence in the field.

Looking back at 2021 when COVID-19 surged in Taiwan, Fubon Financial Holdings took several measures to support employees, customers, society, and the environment. In terms of employee care, we: (1) set up a “Fubon COVID-19 testing station,” enabling employees to go to work with peace of mind; (2) increased childbirth and childcare subsidies to encourage employees to have children; (3) added “notifiable infectious disease health insurance” to group insurance for employees; and (4) provided relief funds and subsidies to employees whose livelihoods were affected by the pandemic.

In terms of customer products and services, (1) Fubon Life rolled out the first notifiable infectious disease term health insurance plan and Fubon Insurance introduced “Epidemic Salary Payment Insurance” for employers and a policy covering individuals for infectious disease-related medical expenses; (2) Fubon Insurance gave customers a way to buy insurance safely with “Next2U” remote videoconference insurance services; (3) Fubon Life promoted loans on insurance policies to help policyholders get through financial difficulties; and (4) Taipei Fubon Bank provided sign language interpretation services to assist hard-of-hearing customers.

Several advances were also made to address climate change and move toward our low-carbon vision, including: (1) setting standards on investing in or pulling investment out of the high-emission power generation, coal mining, cement, petrochemical, and steel industries; (2) issuing our first TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) Report; (3) establishing a Sustainable Finance Policy; (4) setting and submitting science-based targets (SBTs); (5) providing a wide range of sustainability-related products and services (such as Taipei Fubon Bank providing a sustainability-linked loan to Merry Electronics, Taipei Fubon Bank providing a green syndicated loan to YFY Inc., and Fubon issuing sustainability bonds and a Future Mobility ETF); and (6) encouraging sporting events to go green and creating a tie-in with four major marathons in Taiwan to plant 100,000 trees within five years.

The many action plans cited above, which we continue to optimize and strengthen, demonstrate our commitment to bringing about tangible change.

Since the 26th United National Climate Change Conference (COP26) in the United Kingdom in late 2021, the world has moved forward on net zero emissions, with several steps being taken in that direction. In 2022, Taiwan issued a “Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions in 2050” to align itself with the global trend toward net-zero goals as well as address the adverse impact of extreme weather and pressure on supply chains to reduce carbon. Fubon is prepared for the challenge. Beyond continuing action plans related to its four ESG strategies – decarbonization, digitalization, empowerment, and connection – it is participating in global initiatives to achieve net-zero goals, such as applying to join the RE100 and submitting SBTs.