Lyu worked for BNP Paribas and the Bank of New York Mellon, among other institutions.[2] In July 2000, while serving as the vice president of KBC Bank in Taiwan, he accepted an appointment to the
China Airlines board of directors.[3] By 2002, Lyu was the vice chairman of the
Commission of National Corporations, a division of the
Ministry of Economic Affairs.[4][5] In this position, he acted as the commission's spokesman, announcing several moves involving state-owned enterprises.[6][7] Lyu was named to the board of the China Aviation Development Foundation (CADF) in June 2002. At the time, CADF held a majority of shares in China Airlines.[8] After
Mao Chi-kuo stepped down as chairman of
Chunghwa Telecom in January 2003, Lyu was considered a potential successor.[9] However, Lyu remained at the Commission of National Corporations for a time.[10] Later that year, Lyu left both the Commission of National Corporations and China Airlines.[11][12] In June 2004, Lyu succeeded Chen Mu-tsai as chairman and president of the
Bank of Taiwan.[13][14] Concurrently, Lyu also served on an economic advisory committee led by
Lin Hsin-i.[15][16] During his tenure, the merger of the Bank of Taiwan with the Central Trust of China was approved.[17]
In January 2006, Lyu was appointed finance minister, replacing
Lin Chuan.[18][19] Lyu took office on 25 January 2006.[20] Lyu left the cabinet in September to chair King's Town Bank.[21] In January 2008, Lyu became the chairman of Mega Financial Holding Company.[22][23] Wang Rong-jou replaced Lyu in July.[24] In August 2016, Lyu was named to a government taskforce convened to probe the New York branch of Mega International Commercial Bank.[25] Later, Lyu returned to Taiwan Financial Holding, and the Bank of Taiwan as chairman.[26][27]