The rise of the Koo family dates back to the late nineteenth century in Lukang, which was the capital at the time.

The first generation Koo ancestors held monopolistic investments in camphor, salt, sugar, and land.

He graduated from Soochow University in Taipei in 1957 with a BA in accounting, moved to New York (lived in Brooklyn Heights) and graduated from New York University Stern School of Business in 1962 with an MBA: his youngest son Andre Koo and eldest grandson Andre Koo Jr. also attended NYU Stern as the 3rd legacy alum.

Koo was also an Eisenhower Fellowship awardee [5] and ambassador at-large representing Taiwan in cross-strait relations with China [6] and attended major international forums such as the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

The bank has subsidiaries in the Philippines, the United States, Canada, and Indonesia, foreign branch offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Vietnam, and foreign representative offices in London, Bangkok, Hanoi, Beijing, Manila, and Los Angeles.

[9] Koo went to New York City for treatment for Parkinson's disease[11] and died at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on 6 December 2012.