Business

Tue Jul 15 02:12:13 PDT 2008

TAIPEI, July 15 (Reuters) – Taiwan financial firms have more than T$600 billion ($20 billion) in exposure to assets from troubled U.S. mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the financial regulator said on Tuesday.

Insurers hold the lion’s share of the exposure, with T$538.6 billion, while banks’ exposure totalled about T$79.4 billion, the Financial Supervisory Commission told reporters at a media briefing.

It disclosed the numbers amid a sell-off of financial shares in Taiwan on concerns about exposure to the two U.S. mortgage companies. The banking and insurance sub-index had slid 5.54 percent in late afternoon trade.

(Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)

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