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:: FAQ > Banks > Bank of Taiwan ::   The Bank of Taiwan (BOT) was established on May 20, 1946 as the first government-owned bank following the island's restoration to the Republic of China in 1945. It has now been operating for 54 years, much of the time under the administration of the Taiwan Provincial Government. Following the phase out of the Taiwan Provincial Government on Dec. 21, 1998, the Bank was subsequently taken over by the central government of the Republic of China and placed under the administration of the Ministry of Finance, in accordance with the regulations on government-owned financial institutions. The BOT headquarters is located in Taipei City, while its branch organizations are located throughout Taiwan and in major international financial centers, as well. By the end of December 2000, the BOT had a total of 111 domestic branches and 9 overseas branch organizations. Its total staff, both in Taiwan and overseas, amounted to more than 7,000 persons. During its formative years, the BOT managed the business of the national treasury, issued currency in the Taiwan area, and carried out many of the functions of a central bank. In the early years following the central government's move to Taiwan in 1949, it acted as agent in carrying out most of the functions of the Central Bank of China (CBC), thus giving it a dual character; that of a central bank, as well as a general commercial bank. Following restoration of the CBC in Taiwan in July 1961, however, the BOT switched its primary emphasis to general banking. After the passage of the Local Autonomy Law in July 1994, provincial, county, and city governments were given the right to choose the banks in which to deposit their funds. Faced with competition from other banks, the BOT has been able to rely on its outstanding image and efficiency, which it built up through decades of effort. It has steadfastly adhered to sound operating principles, and has continued to serve as agent for government treasuries outside the areas of Taipei and Kaohsiung cities. It is also responsible for the operation of businesses related to the issuance of New Taiwan Dollar currency, the handling of deposits of military and civil servants' retirement funds at preferential interest rates, and acts as agent for check clearance outside the area of Taipei City. All of these activities reflect the vital position that the BOT continues to hold within the banking system of Taiwan. Throughout the history of Taiwan's economic development, from post-war reconstruction, currency reform, and the implementation of successive economic construction plans to the more recent promotion of key and strategic industry development, the Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Center plan, and B.O.T. (build-operate-transfer) public construction projects, the Bank has at all times offered its opinions for reference in policy-making and has done its utmost to supply funds needed to support the implementation of government policies. It can truly be said that the BOT has made many contributions to economic development in the Taiwan area. At the time of its establishment the BOT's capital was provided by the government treasury. Throughout its long history the Bank's capitalization has been successively expanded through asset revaluation and accumulated capital surplus, so that by the end of December 2000 its paid-in capital had reached NT$32 billion. According to The Banker magazine's ranking by Tier 1 capital, this puts the BOT in 105th place in the world and ranks it No.1 in Taiwan. Also, according to Euromoney's ranking by shareholder equity, the BOT is 75th in the world. In recent years the government has worked hard to carry out financial liberalization and internationalization, and, in line with the trend toward cross-industry operation and enlargement of scale among financial institutions, it has revised the Banking Law and completed the Trust Business Law and Law Governing Merger of Financial Institutions with an aim of expanding the scale of banking operations and the scope of banking business, thus upgrading the competitiveness of the island's banks. In the face of an increasingly competitive financial environment, the BOT has moved to restructure its organization, expand its delegation of authority, accelerate its operating processes, and implement other improvements; it has also worked actively to carry out planning for corporatization, so as to accommodate itself to the ROC Company Law and facilitate the further development of its business. Bank of Taiwan has issued old Taiwan Dollar from 1946-1949 and new Taiwan Dollar from 1949-1961. Bank of Taiwan during Japanese Colonization Bank of Taiwan appears on the following banknote(s): TWD P1935 1946 1 Yuan TWD P1936 1946 5 Yuan TWD P1937 1946 10 Yuan TWD P1938 1946 50 Yuan TWD P1939 1946 100 Yuan TWD P1940 1946 500 Yuan TWD P1941 1947 100 Yuan TWD P1942 1948 1000 Yuan TWD P1943 1948 1000 Yuan TWD P1944 1948 10000 Yuan TWD P1945 1949 10000 Yuan TWD P1945A 1949 100000 Yuan TWD P1946 1949 1 Cent TWD P1947 1949 5 Cents TWD P1948 1949 10 Cents TWD P1949 1949 50 Cents TWD P1951 1949 1 Yuan TWD P1950 1949 1 Yuan TWD P1952 1949 5 Yuan TWD P1953 1949 5 Yuan TWD P1954 1949 10 Yuan TWD P1955 1949 10 Yuan TWD P1956 1949 100 Yuan TWD P1957 1949 100 Yuan TWD P1963 1954 1 Cent TWD P1964 1954 1 Yuan TWD P1966 1954 1 Yuan TWD P1967 1954 10 Yuan TWD P1968 1955 5 Yuan Off-Shore PR103 1950 10 Cents Off-Shore PR104 1950 50 Cents Off-Shore PR102A 1949 1 Yuan Off-Shore PR102 1949 1 Yuan Off-Shore PR101 1949 1 Yuan Off-Shore PR102B 1949 5 Yuan Off-Shore PR108 1955 5 Yuan Off-Shore PR109 1966 5 Yuan Off-Shore PR105 1950 10 Yuan Off-Shore PR106 1950 10 Yuan Off-Shore PR107 1951 50 Yuan Off-Shore PR119 1954 1 Yuan Off-Shore PR120 1954 1 Yuan Off-Shore PR121 1955 5 Yuan Off-Shore PR116 1950 10 Yuan Off-Shore PR117 1950 10 Yuan Off-Shore PR118 1951 50 Yuan Off-Shore PR141 1950 10 Cents Off-Shore PR142 1950 50 Cents Off-Shore PR140 1949 1 Yuan Off-Shore PR143 1950 10 Yuan Bank of China Bank of China - Hong Kong Branch Bank of China - Macau Branch People's Bank of China The Central Bank of China Bank of Taiwan The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corperation Limited Standard Chartered Bank Banco Nacional Ultramarino