TOP NEWS IN EUROPEAN FINANCIALS
* Greensill Capital (UK) Ltd. is facing possible insolvency after Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group AG froze $10 billion of investment funds linked to the specialty finance firm, insiders told The Wall Street Journal. Credit Suisse Asset Management (Switzerland) Ltd. suspended redemptions and subscriptions of certain assets in its supply chain finance funds, citing "considerable uncertainties" about the accurate valuation of part of the assets. Credit Suisse's decision was reportedly triggered by concerns over Greensill's large exposure to a single U.K.-based client, steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta.
* Nordea Bank Abp outlined its sustainability and climate targets and commitments for 2023. The Finland-based bank aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest and reduce carbon emissions from its lending and investment portfolios by between 40% and 50% by 2030, among other goals.
➤ Nordic banks likely to pay special dividends to adjust 'extreme' capital buffers
Nordic banks' capacity and commitment to pay dividends make them an attractive investment from a capital return perspective, said UBS analysts, forecasting an average cash return of 12% for the six largest banks over the next 12 months.
➤ Spanish banks face higher provisions in 2021 if economy, tourism fail to recover
"If you are thinking the tourism sector is completely written off in the summer of 2021, that is going to have a detrimental impact on corporate asset quality," Jefferies analyst Benjie Creelan-Sandford said in an interview.
➤ From Shoreditch to the world: Review calls on UK to help fintech sector scale up
The independent review into the British financial technology sector provides "sensible" recommendations to help the industry scale up and to underline its position as a global leader, according to industry observers.
BANKING
* British Business Bank PLC is removing a U.K. government guarantee underpinning Greensill Capital loans related to companies linked to steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta after an investigation into Greensill Capital's compliance with the rules of the state-backed Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, insiders told Sky News.
* Bankia SA ex-chairman and former IMF head Rodrigo Rato is facing trial on corruption, money laundering and tax evasion charges related to advertising contracts at the Spanish bank, Expansión reported.
* The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority has identified a number of "minor" shortcomings in Swedbank AB (publ)'s information and cybersecurity defense systems, Realtid.se reported. In response, Swedbank said it has presented an action plan to correct all deficiencies identified by the FSA.
* Crédit Agricole Italia SpA, a unit of French lender Crédit Agricole SA, entered into a block-trade purchase agreement concerning 800,000 ordinary shares of Italian lender Credito Valtellinese SpA, representing 1.14% of the share capital, for a price per share equal to the offer price. In November 2020, Crédit Agricole offered to pay €10.50 for every share in Creval in a €737 million takeover bid.
* The CEOs of France-based Crédit Agricole Group, Groupe BPCE and Confédération Nationale du Crédit Mutuel wrote a joint article in Les Echos after their banks were named as companies not allowing sufficient home working, arguing that their work as local cooperative banks made it essential for them to be close to their clients.
* Julius Bär Gruppe AG ended its share repurchase program launched in November 2019. The Switzerland-based banking group bought 2,585,000 shares at an aggregate cost of CHF113 million under the program.
* DNB ASA plans to reorganize its countrywide office network in Norway once the threat from the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, Dagens Næringsliv wrote.
* Sydbank A/S reported a full-year 2020 group after-tax profit of 799 million Danish kroner, down from the year-ago 853 million kroner.
* Russia-based PJSC ROSBANK completed its merger with unit LLC Rusfinance Bank, with the latter financial institution terminating its activities.
* Georgia-based TBC Bank Group PLC Chairman Nikoloz Enukidze will step down from the role.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* French insurance giant Axa SA is seeking £631 million from Santander UK Group Holdings PLC for a claim it inherited with the purchase of certain entities, Expansión wrote. The multimillion-pound suit is related to payment protection insurance in the U.K.
* U.K.-based asset manager Man Group Ltd. reported a full-year 2020 statutory profit attributable to owners of the parent company of $138 million, down from $285 million in 2019. The board approved a new progressive dividend policy and recommended a final dividend of 5.7 cents per share for 2020, up from the year-ago 5.1 cents per share.
* Sweden-based Klarna Bank AB (publ) raised $1 billion in an equity funding round, taking its valuation to $31 billion.
* The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling on coronavirus-related business interruption coverage will have no bearing on how reinsurance contracts respond, according to a new paper from U.S. reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co.
* Aegon NV has wrapped up the divestment of U.K.-based accident insurance product provider Stonebridge, amid the Dutch insurer's bid to simplify its business.
* Tryg A/S has launched a rights issue at a subscription ratio of 7:6 and subscription price of 105 Danish kroner per new share.
* Anima Holding SpA CEO Alessandro Melzi D'Eril said the Italian asset manager sees several potential M&A opportunities arising from consolidation in Italy's banking sector, Reuters reported. Anima previously said it had €300 million to €400 million for potential acquisitions.
* Swiss Life Holding AG posted a 2020 net profit of CHF1.05 billion, down 13% from the previous year.
* London-listed Kazakh fintech company Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz expects its 2021 adjusted net income to grow to roughly 410 billion tenge from 274 billion tenge in 2020, Reuters reported.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* The European Banking Authority has launched a public consultation on a framework of standards designed to assess how well banks and investment firms in Europe align to climate goals and transition to sustainability. Among the key performance indicators outlined in the EBA's proposal to the European Commission is a green asset ratio.
* The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority was alerted to concerns over the strategy of Neil Woodford's flagship investment fund within the first year of its operation, during the exit interviews of COO Nick Hamilton and Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Gray Smith in 2014, but the regulator did not act on the information the two presented, insiders told the Financial Times.
* The Ukrainian central bank updated the list of the country's systemically important banks and removed JSC Kredobank from the list as part of an annual review, Delo.ua reported.
Erin Tanchico, Arno Maierbrugger, Danielle Rossingh, Gerard O'Dwyer, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Brian McCulloch, Praxilla Trabattoni and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.
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