BofA eyeing to move HK staff to Singapore; UBS buying Wealthfront for $1.4B

TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

* As the pandemic forces companies in Hong Kong to reevaluate their operations in the city, Bank of America Corp. is in the early stages of looking at which roles in certain of its business lines there can be moved to Singapore in a move that could either be permanent or temporary, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources. The review is being coordinated by the bank's Asia-Pacific COO, Richard Yacenda, according to the report.

* UBS Group AG is acquiring online wealth adviser Wealthfront Corp. for $1.4 billion in cash. Wealthfront, which was reportedly working with a financial adviser to explore a sale, has more than $27 billion in AUM and more than 470,000 clients in the U.S.

➤ Sequential earnings growth proves challenging for many large US banks in Q4'21

Seven out of the 12 U.S. banks with $100 billion to $1 trillion in total assets that released 2021 fourth-quarter financial results as of Jan. 21 posted a year-over-year increase in earnings per share, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

➤ Most large banks book negative provisions in Q4'21

Of the U.S. banks with more than $10 billion in total assets that reported fourth-quarter 2021 earnings through Jan. 21, the vast majority — 32 out of 45 — reported negative provisioning.

EARNINGS SPOTLIGHT

* Popular Inc. reported fourth-quarter 2021 EPS of $2.58, up from $2.10 in the year-ago quarter.

* T. Rowe Price Group Inc. reported AUM of $1.688 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2021, up 14.8% from $1.471 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2020.

* Mastercard Inc. and Simmons First National Corp. also reported quarterly results.

BANKING

* JPMorgan Chase & Co. is looking to hire more than 500 people in Latin America as it grows its market share in the region, Bloomberg News reported, citing an interview with the company's Latin America and Canada CEO, Alfonso Eyzaguirre.

* To retain talent, Bank of America is increasing the base salaries for its managing directors in investment banking and markets to $500,000 from $400,000, while directors will see a boost to their pay to as much as $350,000 from $250,000, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Vice presidents will see their pays climb to $225,000, and associates' base salaries will also be boosted to about $160,000 from $140,000, according to the report.

* Four new shareholder petitions have been lodged at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to either make JPMorgan disclose climate-related information or adopt a policy ensuring that the Wall Street giant's financing does not contribute to further fossil fuel supplies, the Financial Times reported.

* During their respective 2021 fourth-quarter earnings calls, Prosperity Bancshares Inc. CEO David Zalman said the bank is already in talks with potential partners for expected M&A activity, and WesBanco Inc. President and CEO Todd Clossin said the Wheeling, W.V.-based bank is "making steady progress" on its plan to hire 20 more commercial lenders over the next year to 18 months.

* Lakeland Bancorp Inc. expects to surpass $10 billion in total assets by March 31, executives said on the company's fourth-quarter 2021 earnings conference call.

* Cadence Bank's first earnings report following the closing of its merger of equals with BancorpSouth Bank beat analyst expectations on lower-than-expected merger expenses and loan marks.

* Jackson, Miss.-based Trustmark Corp. saw a quarter-over-quarter decline in mortgage banking revenue and expects it will continue trending lower due to reduced volume and a lower gain on sale margin.

* Live Oak Bancshares Inc. projects that loan originations in 2022 can stay above $4 billion, CFO William Losch during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call Jan. 26.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

* Meta Platforms Inc.'s previous stablecoin initiative, The Diem Association, is selling its technology to California-based Silvergate Capital Corp. for $200 million following an earlier report on the potential sale, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed source. Silvergate had struck a partnership with Diem to issue some of the stablecoins.

* Hazel, an independent fintech launched in partnership with Walmart Inc. and Ribbit Capital, will acquire fintech platforms Even Responsible Finance Inc. and One Finance Inc. The transactions are expected to close in the first half of the year, pending approvals.

* Sallie Mae entered into an agreement with Epic Research LLC to acquire Nitro College, a Delaware-based digital marketing and education solutions company. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.

* The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. COO John Waldron said the company will make announcements about its return-to-office plans in February, saying that employees are expected to be given more flexibility and more hybrid work, Bloomberg News reported.

* Cryptocurrency companies Celsius Network Ltd., Voyager Digital Ltd. and Gemini Trust Co. LLC are being probed by the SEC as part of the regulator's efforts to investigate firms that pay interest on virtual token deposits, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

* The Massachusetts Securities Division filed an administrative complaint against Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC claiming the broker/dealer engaged in "unethical and dishonest" practices, granting options and margin trading approval to customers and failing to vet them, which violated the state's law.

POLICY AND REGULATION

* The SEC is proposing to amend the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds. The amendments would, among other things, require the advisers to file reports within one business day of events that indicate significant stress at a fund that could harm investors or signal risk in the broader financial system.

* The SEC is also proposing to change rules to bring more alternative trading systems under the regulatory umbrella, building on its 2020 initiative to increase regulatory oversight for such systems involved in the trading of government securities. The proposal would extend Regulation ATS to include systems that offer the use of non-firm trading interest and provide protocols to bring together buyers and sellers for trading any type of security.

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