S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of banking news stories and more published throughout the week. Please note that some entries may have links to third-party sources that require a subscription.
Deal announcements
* Citigroup Inc. agreed to sell its consumer banking franchises in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to UOB Group.
* National Australia Bank Ltd. is acquiring digital health claiming technology business LanternPay as part of its strategy to digitize banking for customers.
* Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd. agreed to acquire all of RBC Investor Services Trust Hong Kong Ltd. from RBC Investor & Treasury Services for an undisclosed consideration.
* Mizuho Americas LLC will acquire middle-market placement agent Capstone Partners for an undisclosed consideration.
* iFast Corp. Ltd. agreed to acquire an 85% stake in U.K.-based digital lender BFC Bank Ltd. from Bahrain-based BFC Group Holdings.
More M&A news
* The Malaysian government gave the green light to the transfer of the shares and control of moneylender Sibu Kurnia Marine Sdn. Bhd. to Australian financial technology firm IOUpay Ltd.
* WAM Capital Ltd. raised its offer consideration to acquire all of the shares in PM Capital Asian Opportunities Fund Ltd. to 1 WAM share for every 1.95 PM Capital Asian shares.
* VGI Partners Ltd. said it is conducting preliminary discussions with Regal Funds Management regarding a potential merger.
* Equitas Holdings Ltd. will divest its entire stake in its Equitas Technologies Pvt. Ltd. unit ahead of its merger with Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd.
IPO buzz
* Bank of Lanzhou Co. Ltd. raised 2.03 billion yuan from its Shenzhen Stock Exchange IPO that was completed Jan. 11, Caixin reported.
* India-based Pine Labs Pvt. Ltd. filed for a $500 million IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
* South Korean online lender K-Bank initiated the process for its planned IPO by requesting proposals from local and foreign securities companies, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing company officials.
Regulatory updates
* The South Korean Financial Services Commission mandated new lending limits and liquidity rules for mutual finance companies to promote healthy competition in the sector.
* The Reserve Bank of India canceled the certificate of registration of Morgan Stanley India Securities Pvt. Ltd. and seven other nonbank financial companies after the firms surrendered their certificates and the right to conduct business as nonbank financial institutions.
* The People's Bank of China fined The Bank of East Asia (China) Ltd. 16.74 million yuan over violations related to credit information collection and management, Caixin reported, citing a notice from the central bank's Shanghai office. The regulator also issued a draft notice regarding new foreign trade formats by allowing banks and qualified payment institutions to cooperate on cross-border yuan settlement services under the current account.
* The China Securities Regulatory Commission ordered Zheshang Securities Co. Ltd.'s Zhejiang Zheshang Securities Asset Management Co. Ltd. unit to suspend the filing of certain private asset management products for six months.
* The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas formally rolled out the Open Finance Framework, allowing customers to share their data with third-party providers across multiple financial products and services.
In other news
* The average amount of outstanding loans and discounts at Japan's major, regional and shinkin banks in December 2021 stood at about ¥580.870 trillion, staying steady from a 0.6% year-over-year increase in the previous month.
* Consus Asset Management Co. Ltd. filed an injunction with the Seoul Central District Court to stop the sale of Korea Development Bank's life insurance unit to private equity firm JC Partners Co. Ltd.
* Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. said it will be restructuring its current stock markets into three new market segments in order to support listed companies' efforts to achieve sustainable growth and mid- to long-term corporate value enhancement.
* Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd. is seeking to launch a wealth management division after obtaining approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission for the unit to begin operations.
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