Tarf crackdown forces Taiwan banks to offer alternatives

Target redemption forwards with capped loss structure set for launch

A variation of the target redemption forward (Tarf) is now being sold by Taiwanese banks following a crackdown on the sale of Tarf products by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) due to losses experienced by investors following the depreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar from March to May earlier this year.

In April, the Taiwanese regulator sanctioned Bank Sinopac for derivatives sale breaches and banned the bank from marketing Tarfs for one year. Soon after, the FSC issued a