TOP NEWS IN GLOBAL FINANCIALS
* China-based tech company Tencent Holdings Ltd. acquired a stake in Monzo Bank Ltd. through a funding round that takes the British online lender's valuation to $4.5 billion, media outlets including the Financial Times and Sky News reported. Tencent is reportedly taking a minority part in a $100 million top-up to Monzo's latest funding round.
* U.S. banking group Morgan Stanley will pay $60 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit on data security, Reuters reported, citing settlement papers filed Dec. 31 in Manhattan federal court. The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of 15 million customers, accused the bank of exposing personal data when it failed to properly retire two wealth management data centers in 2016 and some older servers holding customer data in 2019, according to the report.
* The People's Bank of China is encouraging financial institutions to fund the real estate sector's M&A to help trim the assets and liabilities of highly indebted firms, Caixin reported, citing Zou Lan, head of the central bank's financial market department.
➤ More downside expected for steel as Evergrande liquidity crisis impact persists
The impact of China Evergrande's liquidity crisis is just one of various factors that bode ill for steel markets in 2022, according to analysts from across Asia and Australia, the world's biggest iron ore producer.
➤ Japan's transition bond issuance may gain momentum after slow start
The annual issuance of transition bonds in Japan could reach ¥1 trillion "in several years" after a slow start, according to the lead manager of the nation's first bond for emissions-reduction projects that do not meet green definitions.
US & CANADA
* JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. told employees to work from home in the first several weeks of 2022 amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, Bloomberg News reported, citing company memos and policy change announcements. JPMorgan expects its back-to-office plan to resume by February, according to the report. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. also told its U.S. employees to work remotely until Jan. 18 if they can, according to a separate Bloomberg News report, citing a memo.
* Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams disclosed her intention to resign on Feb. 4 in a letter to President Joe Biden.
Click here for more of the day's essential bank and financial services news in the U.S. and Canada.
LATIN AMERICA
* Mortgage loans as offered by Chilean banks only grew 0.37% in November 2021, Diario Financiero reported. Chilean bank association ABIF attributed the low growth to higher interest rates as triggered by three rounds of pension withdrawals in the country; a change in the duration of mortgage loans; and tighter requirements on home loans.
* Brazilian companies issued 46 bonds totaling $29.9 billion on the international market in 2021, Valor Econômico reported, citing Morgan Stanley. Both the issuance and total value were up from 2020, which reportedly saw 41 bonds issued totaling $27.9 billion.
EUROPE
* Julius Bär Gruppe AG will sell all its shares in Wergen & Partner Wealth Management Ltd. to the latter's management for an undisclosed sum following a review of its "strategic participations." The Swiss private bank, which acquired the business in February 2017, said the deal will close within the first quarter.
* Ireland's competition authority will open a full Phase 2 probe into Allied Irish Banks PLC's proposed takeover of some assets of Ulster Bank Ireland DAC. The assets in question include a roughly €4.2 billion portfolio of performing commercial loans.
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
* Saudi Arabia-based Banque Saudi Fransi announced the appointment of Mazin Abdulrazzak al-Romaih as chairman of the board of directors, while Talal Ibrahim al-Maiman was named vice chairman.
* Saudi Arabia's central bank said it will use Bloomberg's auction system to conduct repo, reverse repo and open market operations with local banks beginning this month. The auction system is used to carry out auction tenders electronically and allows market participants to track these auctions and enter bids.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Norway's Telenor ASA agreed to sell a 51% stake in Myanmar-based Digital Money Myanmar Ltd., a mobile payment services firm trading as Wave Money, to its main partner in the venture Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. for $53 million in cash, which will increase Yoma Strategic's stake to 75%, Nikkei Asia reported. The remaining 25% stake will be held by private investors in the Yoma-led consortium, including a Taiwanese financial group.
* The Japan Center for Economic Research estimates regional banks could eliminate about 3,000 branches nationwide, equivalent to about 30% of the total, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported, citing analysis based on Japanese banks' location strategies. If the strategies are achieved, the regional banks could cut over ￥500 billion in operating cost in about seven years at the current pace, the research institute estimates.
Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Asia-Pacific.
Adrian Jimenea, Mary Christine Joy and Ryan Jeffrey Sy contributed to this report.
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