Overseas Chinese Capital in Taiwan: a Case Study of the Bank of Overseas Chinese (booc)

Abstract On April 9, 2007, news outlets reported that Citigroup would acquire the Bank of Overseas Chinese ( booc ) in Taiwan at nt $14.1 billion.” Neither a significant transaction nor the first bank merger during the financial reforms of the 2000s, this event, nevertheless, symbolized the withdrawal of a unique category in Taiwan’s economic system. As the oldest private bank in Taiwan, booc ’s development illustrates the dynamics of Taiwan’s financial politics. This article intends to explain the rise and fall of booc from the perspective of historical institutionalism and showcase the changing linkage between state bureaucracy, political power, and financial capital at different stages.