Q&A with Chairperson, Financial Supervisory Commission (Taiwan), Dr. Jin-Lung Peng
Dr. Jin-Lung Peng
About Chairperson Peng
How did you get to where you are?
My journey has not been a pre-planned path, but rather one that unfolded step by step through continuous learning and dedication. In my university years, I developed a strong interest in the financial system. After entering public service, I came to a deep appreciation that policies must address the needs of the people.
Having earned a doctorate, I began teaching at a university, where I was able to integrate more than a decade of experience in the public sector with academic research.
Throughout my teaching career, I continued to closely follow the development of Taiwan’s financial market and industries. A sense of responsibility — as well as the fact that I had engaged in related research — led me back to the public sector in hopes that I could contribute to the development of Taiwan’s financial sector.
What inspires you?
Taiwan’s financial market is built on a robust foundation and is primed for growth. With top-tier industries, skilled professionals, and resilient economic strength, Taiwan is ready to make the most of opportunities that present themselves.
Through financial restructuring, our goal is to create a more globally competitive system that delivers benefits to society as a whole.
What is your advice to the younger generation?
When we design policies, our eyes are not just on the present, but on the Taiwan of 10 or 20 years from now.
I hope that young people will similarly take a long-term perspective. Your efforts today are not only about shaping your own future, but also about creating better solutions for all of society.
Believe in your ability to handle future responsibilities, help resolve societal challenges, and chart a course for tomorrow.
What does leadership mean to you?
To me, leadership means the ability to influence others and achieve goals collectively, rather than simply executing authority or issuing commands. It involves inspiring people to believe that your vision and principles are right.
Equally important is effective communication, ensuring that others understand and embrace your ideas and are thus willing to modify their own behavior on the way to shared objectives.
Leadership encompasses both expertise and charisma: people follow you because they trust your professional competence, while charm unites a team’s efforts. In other words, leadership is about guiding others forward through the application of both wisdom and influence.
What’s on the horizon?
What are the areas of focus going forward?
Our goal is to build a financial market that is both safe and forward-looking — one marked by discipline and order that is also vibrant and future-ready.
To this end, we have adopted a balanced approach to ensuring financial stability while encouraging sustainable growth. Our priorities span six key areas: strengthening capital resilience and risk oversight, improving market discipline and corporate governance, enhancing consumer protection and financial inclusion, furthering market development, supporting fintech and innovation, and accelerating sustainable finance.
Looking ahead, we’re focusing on several strategic initiatives:
- Positioning Taiwan as a key Asian asset management center that is connected to the world.
- Advancing digital transformation and innovation in fintech to unlock the next stage of financial development.
- Expanding green and transition finance, using capital to support sustainability goals.
- Enhancing consumer protection, including putting in place stronger anti-fraud measures and clearer rules for the leasing and lending sectors.
- Refining the FinTech Regulatory Adaptation Platform to ensure that regulation keeps pace with market developments.
- Launching the Financial Giveback Initiative: integrating social contributions into the core operations of the financial sector.
We believe that sound regulation and innovation can go hand in hand. This is the direction we have committed to.
How are FSC priorities aligning with Taiwan’s overall policy priorities and plans to further Taiwan as an asset management center?
Establishing Taiwan as an Asian asset management center is a key national policy. It is part of the president’s platform and has been strongly supported by the premier.
Personally, I believe Taiwan has three advantages that make this the right time to move forward: a globally competitive industrial base, a deep pool of private wealth, and strong investment momentum. These conditions create for us a golden window of opportunity.
Therefore, I set phased objectives that aim at driving significant change in the overall market structure through regulatory relaxation and institutional reform. This will enable Taiwan to establish a solid presence in Asia’s asset management landscape and gain international recognition.
Describe the role played by FSC in promoting Taiwan as an Asian asset management center, and the importance of this role?
The financial sector plays a crucial role in Taiwan, and the Asian Asset Management Center initiative will be key to driving a comprehensive structural transformation and industrial upgrading of our markets.
Through this, we are trying to get banks, insurers, and securities firms to broaden their businesses, offer better compensation, and attract overseas talent to Taiwan.
We are also encouraging the public to engage in long-term investment by channeling savings into the capital market. These efforts strengthen cross-industry linkages and collaboration, leading to the introduction of new products and expansion into larger markets to serve a more diverse client base.
This initiative goes beyond just financial policy; it carries strategic national significance. It will enhance the added value and global visibility of Taiwan’s financial industry, while bringing in long-term capital investment that can be used to support the real economy and sustainable growth.
In a world of rapid technological development, how do you balance innovation and regulation?
While it is important to promote innovation in the financial market, this can never come at the expense of safety. My goal is to build a new financial market where safety and development advance together.
Our approach is not unrestricted liberalization, but rather innovation with controlled risk. By establishing a FinTech Development Alliance and broadening the scope of pilot programs for financial institutions, we are encouraging trial initiatives for innovation in the realm of finance.
By adopting a “pilot first, regulate later” model, new technologies and services can be tested within a controlled environment. This motivates firms to innovate boldly while permitting us to monitor risks and progressively adjust regulations. This allows us to move forward pragmatically and ensure market stability and security.
Moving forward, we are looking to put in place a more flexible and pragmatic regulatory adaptation platform that enables fintech innovation to flourish within a clear compliance framework. This balanced approach is the key to helping both fintech and the market advance.
What does the future of financial services in Taiwan look like?
The Financial Supervisory Commission envisions Taiwan becoming a key center for asset allocation and wealth management in the Asia-Pacific region.
Beyond simply expanding the scale of asset management, our goal is to further enhance the capacity of financial services so that we can offer more advanced, high-end services even as we create a greater variety of investment channels and opportunities for wealth appreciation.
At the same time, we are committed to attracting and cultivating financial talent, enabling the industry to stand alongside Taiwan’s globally competitive sectors and serve as the backbone supporting industrial development.
Lastly, we are strengthening Taiwan’s connections to international markets and further elevating its visibility and influence vis-à-vis the global economy.
This profile forms part of Bloomberg’s Regulatory Affairs insights series and is independent of Bloomberg News.