StanChart CEO succession; SMEs hacked the most; Vietnam's MoMo eyes IPO

TOP NEWS IN GLOBAL FINANCIALS

* Simon Cooper, Standard Chartered PLC's investment banking head, has become the front-runner to succeed Bill Winters as CEO of the U.K.-based bank after his advisory and trading division outperformed in 2020 amid the coronavirus crisis, insiders told the Financial Times. The division's better-than-expected performance has lifted Cooper above StanChart's other main internal prospect, Ben Hung, the group's CEO for Greater China and North Asia and head of retail banking and wealth management, according to the report.

* Small and medium-sized businesses are generating the overwhelming majority of cyber insurance claims as hackers increasingly target smaller companies, according to a claims study. Attackers have shifted their preferences to the extent that the size of an organization has become a better predictor of cyber vulnerability than its industry, according to the latest annual NetDiligence Cyber Claims Study.

* Vietnam's biggest e-wallet firm MoMo raised approximately $100 million from six global investors and it plans to conduct an IPO by 2025, Reuters reported, citing CEO Pham Thanh Duc.

➤ Major Australian banks face tougher 2021 as sharper focus cuts growth avenues

As their revenue sources are now primarily corporate and mortgage lending in Australia and New Zealand, the banks no longer enjoy the benefits of risk diversification and fee growth they used to have during the few strong years prior to 2019.

➤ Nigeria's financial services law ushers in tighter controls of banks, fintechs

Nigeria's new financial services law will increase regulatory demands on fintech companies, place greater scrutiny on bank executives and deter unsecured lending to small businesses — and industry experts are divided over how well it will work.

U.S. & CANADA

* Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Bank entered into a definitive merger agreement with Scottsboro, Ala.-based FNS Bancshares Inc., the parent company of FNB Bank, pursuant to which FNS will be merged with and into BancorpSouth. Based on the closing price of BancorpSouth common stock on Jan. 12, the transaction is valued at approximately $108.4 million in the aggregate.

* New York-based BlackRock Inc. reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted net income attributable to the company of $1.57 billion, or $10.18 per share, compared to $1.31 billion, or $8.34 per share, in the year-ago quarter. The S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus normalized EPS estimate for the quarter was $9.03.

Click here for more of the day's essential bank and financial services news in the U.S. and Canada, and here for more of the day's global insurance news.

LATIN AMERICA

* Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, is considering replacing Banco do Brasil SA CEO Andre Guilherme Brandão after being displeased with the "political effects" of recent decisions at the state-owned bank, including a sizable restructuring plan, according to multiple local news outlets.

* Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has authorized the opening of bank accounts "at all levels in convertible currencies, in dollars," seen as a further step toward dollarization of its economy, Bloomberg News reported. The move will allow payments in the local bolívar currency with debit cards from dollar accounts.

Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Latin America.

EUROPE

* Assicurazioni Generali SpA CEO Philippe Donnet will submit a plan to overhaul the Italian insurer's top brass as soon as this month to tighten control over key businesses and accelerate growth, insiders told Bloomberg News.

* The U.K. Prudential Regulation and Financial Conduct authorities have approved a new insurance special-purpose vehicle set up by Lloyd's of London Ltd. to attract new types of investors. The insurance marketplace said the new entity will allow U.K. and international investors, including ILS investors, to deploy funds into the insurance and reinsurance market "in a tax transparent way."

Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Europe.

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

* Moody's said its outlook on sub-Saharan African sovereigns is negative, citing severe economic challenges the region is set to face from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Growth recovery of SSA sovereigns, which also face a wide range of institutional and governance challenges, is expected to be slow and will vary throughout the region.

* Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance Co.'s board of directors recommended a 33.33% capital increase to 400 million Saudi Arabian riyals from 300 million riyals through the issuance of bonus shares to enhance the solvency of its capital.

Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in the Middle East and Africa.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. have organized a syndicate loan for a submarine communication cable project in the Republic of Palau, Japan's The Nikkei reported. The two companies invested ￥800 million.

* Tracker Fund, Hong Kong's largest exchange-traded fund managed by State Street Corp., said it will resume investing in constituent companies of the Hang Seng Index that were targeted by a U.S. ban on investments in companies with alleged ties to the Chinese military. This reverses an earlier decision to stop buying stocks of sanctioned companies.

Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Asia-Pacific.

MARKETS

Read more about today's financial markets in Global Markets Today, a daily feature setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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