Bad news for Bank of Taiwan workers, who say they are treated as second-class citizens in the finance industry while Taiwan's stock market keeps climbing to records.

• A branch manager at state-owned Bank of Taiwan can earn well over NT$1.5 million less a year than a manager at other government-linked banks.
• The gap exists because rival banks can hand staff 1% to 8% of yearly profits as bonuses, while Bank of Taiwan is blocked from sharing profits no matter how well it does.
• The union blames rigid rules from the personnel agency and warns of a talent drain — hiring is getting easier as fewer people apply, and more new hires are quitting than staff retiring.
• On the markets, Taiwan's main index rose again to close near 45,500, lifted by chip and AI names; Foxconn posted record July sales above NT$900 billion on strong AI server demand.
• Chipmaker Powerchip declared its first dividend in three years, and PCB-linked stocks like Kinsus surged, with several hitting daily limit-up.

Outlook: Lawmakers say they back a pay fix but it stays stuck at the personnel agency, so the wage gap is likely to persist while AI-driven stocks keep leading Taiwan's market higher.