TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES
* ASX Ltd. reported its net profit after tax rose 3.5% year over year to A$250.3 million from A$241.8 million for the six months ended December 2021, driven by a 6.6% revenue growth. The Australian bourse operator also said its managing director and CEO, Dominic Stevens, will retire this year.
* Japan-based Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s subsidiary, Mizuho Bank Ltd., agreed to buy a stake of about 10% in Singapore-incorporated Tonik Financial Pte. Ltd., which operates Tonik Digital Bank Inc. in the Philippines.
➤ Australia's biggest bank need not worry about margin drop as growth stays intact
Commonwealth Bank of Australia expects its margins to remain pressured amid record-low interest rates, even as it delivered a 23% year-over-year increase in its cash profit for the fiscal first half ended Dec. 31, 2021.
➤ Venture capital funding to US fintechs roughly doubled in 2021
The aggregate value of venture capital funding to U.S. financial technology companies soared in 2021, led by startups focused on investment and capital markets technology.
EARNINGS SPOTLIGHT
* South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd. said its consolidated net income attributable to controlling interest for the fiscal fourth quarter ended December 2021 slipped 0.99% year over year to 459.81 billion won from 464.39 billion won. The company's consolidated net income for the fiscal year came to 4.019 trillion won, up 17.7% from 3.415 trillion won in 2020.
* Woori Financial Group Inc. said its consolidated profit to equity holders jumped 97.97% to 2.588 trillion won in 2021 from 1.307 trillion won in the previous fiscal year.
* National Australia Bank Ltd. reported its cash earnings grew 9.1% year over year to A$1.80 billion for the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021. The Australian bank added that lending and deposit volumes were each up A$18 billion over the quarter.
BANKING
* The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission approved the plan of Bank of Guiyang Co. Ltd. and Dafang Rural Commercial Bank Co. Ltd. to acquire stakes in three rural township banks formerly held by Baoshang Bank Co. Ltd.
* China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd. Assistant President Ouyang Yong, who stepped down Feb. 8, will become chairman of Minsheng Wealth Management Co. Ltd., Shanghai Securities News reported.
* South Korea's KB Kookmin Bank said it completed pilot operations of its remote retail banking service via Roblox, an online game platform, and that it would continue to develop its virtual office services, The Chosun Ilbo reported.
* Thailand-based Kasikornbank PCL appointed Kramol Pulkes executive vice president, or EVP, of data and analytics, Nisanat Ouvuthipong EVP of transaction and wealth banking, Sarinya Piyawongsomboon EVP of marketing management and Karin Boonlertvanich EVP of corporate strategy and innovation.
* The president of Government Savings Bank said the lender plans to restructure the debt of individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises totaling 230 billion baht, Bangkok Post reported.
* PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk plans to add more overseas branches, including in Los Angeles with potential Indonesia-related business in the U.S., Infobank reported, citing the Indonesian state lender's treasury and international director, Henry Panjaitan.
* The Financial Services Authority approved the appointment of Adiwarman Azwar Karim as president commissioner and Muhammad Zainul Majdi as vice president commissioner of PT Bank Syariah Indonesia Tbk, Bisnis Indonesia reported.
* The board of India's DCB Bank Ltd. granted its in-principle approval to acquire 5.95% of the post-issued paid-up equity share capital of nonbank financial firm Kaabil Finance Pvt. Ltd. for 2.5 million rupees.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* Cerberus Capital Management LP emerged as the top bidder to acquire a stake in India-based Yes Bank Ltd.'s planned bad bank, Mint reported, citing two people directly aware of the development.
* Indian financial technology startup Karbon Card raised $15 million in a series A funding round, led by Olive Tree Capital, Harmony and AvenirGrowth Capital, with participation from investors including Mercury and Orios Venture Partners, Mint reported.
* Saudi Pak Leasing Co. Ltd. said its license, which had been suspended earlier, was canceled due to noncompliance with mandatory requirements. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan granted the firm an extension up to June 30, with consideration to the firm's request for restoring the license.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* The People's Bank of China and other financial regulators issued a notice requiring financial institutions to conduct due diligence on clients and transactions, Caijing reported. Commercial banks, policy banks, securities firms, insurers, wealth managers and other licensed financial institutions must retain client information for single transactions reaching 50,000 yuan or $10,000, effective March 1.
* The People's Bank of China injected 20 billion yuan into the banking system via a 7-day reverse repo at 2.1% to maintain liquidity.
* The Bank of Thailand's monetary policy committee voted unanimously to maintain the policy rate at 0.5% during their Feb. 9 meeting. The committee believes Thailand will see a steady economic recovery in 2022, as exports expand and tourism improves.
* The State Bank of Pakistan fined Bank AL Habib Ltd. 13.7 million rupees and The Bank of Punjab 12.5 million rupees for violating the central bank's regulatory instructions, Pakistan Today reported. Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. was fined about 11 million rupees, Askari Bank Ltd. 10.3 million rupees and National Bank of Pakistan 10.3 million rupees for breaching instructions related to general banking operations.
Click here for a summary of indexes on the S&P Capital IQ Pro platform.
As of Feb. 9, US$1 was equivalent to 6.36 Chinese yuan, 32.73 Thai baht, 74.83 Indian rupees, 1,194.98 South Korean won and 174.36 Pakistani rupees.
R Sio, Eden Estopace, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.
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