UBS evaluating Spanish wealth ops sale; Ares nearing A$3B deal for AMP unit

TOP NEWS IN GLOBAL FINANCIALS

* UBS Group AG has embarked on an evaluation of its wealth management business in Spain as part of CEO Ralph Hamers' overall review of the Swiss bank's global presence, Bloomberg News reported. The review of the business, which has assets of roughly CHF10 billion, could reportedly lead to a sale or an exit from the market. The business could attract interest from other Spanish banks, according to the newswire.

* U.S.-based Ares Management Corp. is nearing a deal to acquire a majority stake in the asset management business of Australia's AMP Ltd. in a transaction that could value the targeted unit at more than A$3 billion, insiders told Bloomberg News. The deal is expected to be announced as soon as next week, but there is a possibility that it could still fall through, the unnamed sources noted.

➤ Securities services revenues dropped in 2020 amid 'unprecedented' margin fall

Margins at the 12 largest securities services banks took a "nosedive" in 2020, with revenue productivity dropping 22% between the first and last quarter of 2020, according to a research director at Coalition Greenwich.

➤ Saudi mortgage lending underpins bank credit ratings, solid 2021 projections

The credit ratings outlook for banks in Saudi Arabia is mostly stable and they are expected to outperform regional peers in the year ahead, as lenders continue to reap the benefits of strong demand for mortgages, according to S&P Global Ratings.

➤ Panelists: UK insurance reforms should not focus on EU equivalence

The U.K. should move forward with non-controversial changes to its insurance regime as soon as possible, M&G's director of public policy recently said at the Association of British Insurers conference.

➤ Coronavirus issues overshadow Brexit impact on UK PE M&A

Some sectors have taken additional Brexit-induced hits on problems exacerbated by the pandemic, but market participants believe the U.K. will retain its reputation as a top deal-making hub.

US & CANADA

* According to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. report, U.S. banks posted full-year 2020 net income of $147.9 billion, down 36.5% from 2019, and fourth-quarter 2020 net income was down 9.1% year over year. Despite the decline, banks remained resilient in the fourth quarter of 2020, consistent with the improving economic outlook, FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said in a statement.

* Twelve Capital said it is an "important distinction" that the majority of losses from the recent winter storm that devastated parts of the southern U.S. are expected to be in the commercial sector because the majority of catastrophe bonds are more exposed to losses from personal lines rather than commercial lines. At present, Twelve Capital does not anticipate that this event will impact positions in its portfolios on a stand-alone basis. However, following a large number of events in 2020, more junior aggregate covers are exposed to further erosion of their deductible for the active risk period.

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

* Brazilian state-owned lender Banco do Brasil SA expects to grow 11% this year in rural credit lines to reach 210.00 billion reais in agribusiness financing, Valor Econômico reported, citing comments made by CEO André Brandão at an event.

* Brazilian state development bank Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social, through unit BNDES Participações SA - BNDESA, has sold off nearly 120 million shares it holds in mining company Vale SA for 11.2 billion reais, Reuters reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the transaction. The sale comes as part of a wider government plan to divest the stakes it holds in various companies.

EUROPE

* Lloyds Banking Group PLC posted a year-over-year drop in fourth-quarter 2020 profits, mainly due to a decline in net interest income, while its full-year 2020 result fell 54% on the back of a steep increase in impairment charges. Lloyds resumed dividend payouts after canceling the final dividend for 2019 in line with a request by the U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority, saying its board recommended a final ordinary dividend of 0.57 pence per share for 2020.

* Ageas SA/NV's Dutch unit, Ageas Insurance International NV, agreed to acquire British insurer Aviva PLC's entire 40% stake in its Turkish joint venture AvivaSA Emeklilik ve Hayat AŞ for about £122 million. The Belgium-based group's fourth-quarter 2020 net result jumped 44% to €147.0 million from €101.9 million a year earlier.

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

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

* Zenith Bank PLC reported full-year 2020 group profit attributable to equity holders of the parent of 230.37 billion Nigerian naira, up from 208.69 billion naira in 2019. The lender's board proposed a final dividend of 2.70 naira per share, compared to the year-ago 2.50 naira per share.

* South African insurer Discovery Ltd. said it expects normalized headline EPS for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2020 to be between 334.5 cents and 369.7 cents, compared to 352.1 cents a year ago.

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

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd.'s net profit after tax for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2020, dropped 9% year over year to S$1.13 billion from S$1.24 billion. The Singaporean lender's full-year net profit attributable to shareholders also fell 26% to S$3.59 billion from the S$4.87 billion recorded in 2019.

* Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd. reached a strategic partnership with China-owned Guosheng Group to cover financing businesses including bond issues, project financing as well as mergers and acquisitions financing, Yicai reported.

* The Insurance Council of Australia announced a second business interruption test case at the Federal Court of Australia. The second test case will determine the meaning of policy wordings in relation to the definition of a disease, proximity of an outbreak to a business and prevention of access to premises due to a government mandate, as well as policies with a hybrid of these types of wordings.

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

Ryan Jeffrey Sy and Pablo Jiménez Arandia contributed to this report.

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This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.