In response to the digital transformation and the development of securities firms in recent years, the proportion of online account openings and electronic trading has been increasing. To further reduce the operating costs of securities firms and enhance their operational flexibility, the FSC has amended some articles of the “Standards Governing the Establishment of Securities Firms,”, “Regulations Governing Securities Firms,” and “Regulations Governing Responsible Persons and Associated Persons of Securities Firms” to allow securities firms to establish or convert general branch offices into simple branch offices, which have a smaller scale, reduced staff, and a simplified business scope. Simple branch offices do not operate securities brokerage businesses, and securities firms may choose to run wealth management business or provide customer account opening pre-operations, business solicitation, and various consulting services according to their business needs and manpower allocation. In accordance with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, the amendments will be announced in the near future to solicit opinions from all parties. The key points of the amendments are as follows:
I. Business scope of simple branch offices: Simple branch offices do not handle brokerage business, and securities firms may choose to run wealth management business as well as business solicitation and account opening pre-operation for securities brokerage business according to their needs (amended Article 24-3 of the Standards Governing the Establishment of Securities Firms).
II. Qualification requirements and application procedures:
1. Establishing new simple branch offices: The qualification requirements are the same as those for established branch offices (amended Articles 19 to 22 of the Standards Governing the Establishment of Securities Firms).
2. Changing a general branch office into a simple branch office: The securities firm should not have been restricted or suspended to trade by peripheral securities units in the past year, its capital sufficiency ratio should be greater than 150%, and it does not need to increase its paid-in capital (amended Articles 20-1 and 21 of the Standards Governing the Establishment of Securities Firms).
3. Permit application and license issuance: The procedures for permit application and license issuance are the same as those for setting up a branch office. To change a general branch office into a simple branch office, the securities firm should state the reason for the change and the mechanism for handling the original customers in the business plan, and attach an employee placement plan to safeguard the rights and interests of employees (amended Articles 23-1, 24-1 of the Standards Governing the Establishment of Securities Firms, along with three application forms).
III. Maximum number of offices: The total number of new and merged offices shall not exceed three per year (amended Article 24-2 of the Standards Governing the Establishment of Securities Firms).
IV. Reduction of operation bond: Considering that the operating risk of a simple branch office is lower than that of a general branch office, the additional operation bond to be increased will be reduced from NT$5 million to NT$2 million (amended Article 9 of the Regulations Governing Securities Firms).
V. No need to deposit to the settlement and clearing fund: Considering that a simple branch office does not conduct brokerage business and therefore does not have any settlement risk associated with securities trading, there is no need to deposit to the TWSE settlement and clearing fund. If a branch office is converted into a simple branch office, the securities firm may apply to the TWSE for the return of the settlement and clearing fund that has already been deposited (amended Article 10 of the Regulations Governing Securities Firms).
VI. Qualification requirements for the responsible person: The responsible person should possess the qualifications of a senior agent along with relevant positive qualifications. The responsible person will be dismissed if such qualifications are not met (amended Articles 3, 8, 10, and 11 of the Regulations Governing Responsible Persons and Associated Persons of Securities Firms).
VII. Other: Other current regulations governing general branch offices will be applicable to simple branch offices (amended Articles 3, 16, 50, 64, and 66 of the Regulations Governing Securities Firms)
The FSC stated that permitting securities firms to establish simple branch offices may not only provide them with multiple options for setting up their business bases, but also help enhance brand visibility and branch penetration, and achieve the goal of inclusive finance. In addition to being published in the official gazette of the Executive Yuan, the general description of the draft and a comparison table of the amended articles will be published on the FSC website for public consultation. If you have any comments, please visit the “Advance Notice on Draft Amendment” page of the FSC’s website “Laws and Regulations Retrieving System” to submit your opinions within 60 days from the day after the announcement.

Contact unit: Securities Firms Division, Securities and Futures Bureau
Tel: (02)2774-7112
If you have any questions, please write to mail