TOP NEWS IN EUROPEAN FINANCIALS
* Standard Chartered PLC is set to launch a $750 million share buyback program that is expected to reduce its common equity Tier 1 ratio by 30 basis points. The U.K.-based lender also aims to pay shareholders a final dividend of 9 cents per share for 2021, bringing the total dividend for the year to 12 cents per share, up 33% year over year. It comes as the bank's full-year 2021 profit attributable to parent company shareholders more than tripled on a yearly basis to $2.32 billion from $724 million. Fourth-quarter 2021 loss attributable to equity holders narrowed 20% year over year to $382 million from $476 million.
* Germany-based Commerzbank AG reported a fourth-quarter 2021 consolidated profit attributable to shareholders and investors in additional equity components of €421 million, compared to a loss of €2.70 billion a year ago. For full year 2021, the bank's attributable profit was €430 million, compared to a loss of €2.87 billion in 2020. The bank attributed the profits to positive developments in its customer business, stabilized net interest income and a significantly higher net commission income.
➤ Engagement beats divestment for ESG outcomes – Vanguard executive
John Galloway, global head of investment stewardship at Vanguard Group, said engaging with companies on environmental, social and governance issues will lead to better results compared to a divestment strategy.
➤ Short selling of consumer discretionary stocks hits highest point in a year
As inflation surges to a four-decade high, short sellers are betting against the consumer discretionary sector.
BANKING
* Banco Santander SA has appealed a Madrid court ruling that ordered the Spain-based bank to pay Andrea Orcel €51.4 million over the withdrawal of its offer to hire the Italian banker as CEO in 2018, insiders told Reuters.
* Russia-based PJSC Sovcombank merged with its unit, Orient Express Bank, taking over the latter's assets and liabilities. Sovcombank took over almost all of the 3 million clients of Orient Express, one million loans worth 76 billion rubles and a 116 billion ruble portfolio of the bank's deposits and current accounts.
* Bank of Ireland Group PLC will increase by 7.5% the pay of the majority of its staff over the coming two years, The Irish Times reported. The move could be the Irish bank's biggest pay award in more than 10 years, according to the report.
* Ralph Müller has been appointed COO of ING-DiBa AG in Germany, effective June 1, 2022. Müller joins from IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, where he was most recently a management board member responsible for strategy, digitalization and operations. He succeeds interim COO Joachim von Schorlemer, who is retiring. Meanwhile, lawyer Hilde Laga has been asked to become CEO of ING Bank Belgium, De Standaard reported. Laga could become the first woman to occupy a leading role in the Belgian banking sector.
* U.S.-based Goldman Sachs plans to open a new office in Monaco for its private banking division as part of its European expansion, L'Agefi wrote. The investment bank has hired bankers Arnaud Caussin, Thibaut Lambert and Serge Olive to head the new office and advise wealthy residents in the region on wealth management and investments.
* Acting CEO Jaakko Pulli was appointed CEO of Finland-based POP Pankkikeskus osk, while Chief Legal Officer Arvi Helenius was named deputy CEO, effective immediately.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* Amundi SA appointed Vincent Mortier chief investment officer, succeeding Pascal Blanqué, who has been appointed to lead the France-based asset manager's newly created Amundi Institute business line. Since 2015, Mortier has been deputy group chief investment officer, a role that will be taken over by Matteo Germano. Separately, Amundi is considering launching products related to digital assets known as nonfungible tokens, Financial News reported.
* Atom Bank PLC raised more than £75 million in a funding round that valued the British financial technology company at £435 million, the Financial Times reported. Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA led the financing round, which Toscafund and Infinity Investment Partners also participated in, Expansión reported.
* Liontrust Asset Management PLC's shareholders narrowly passed a resolution on the U.K.-based boutique fund manager's new pay policy, the Financial Times reported.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said potential Western sanctions against Russian banks will increase market volatility, but that Russia can weather restrictions due to accumulated foreign currency reserves and will make sure that all bank deposits and transactions are secured, Reuters reported.
* The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has expressed concerns about a deal between cryptocurrency exchange Binance and U.S. payments group Paysafe that would give Binance access to the larger payments network in the country, the Financial Times reported. The deal comes after the regulator issued a consumer alert against Binance and ordered it to stop all regulated activities in the country, the report noted.
* German financial regulator BaFin tightened the capital requirements for leasing group Grenke AG to 10.5% from 9% and for subsidiary Grenke Bank AG to 11.5% from 8.5% previously after a special audit found deficiencies at the group, Handelsblatt and Börsen-Zeitung reported.
* Moldova's central bank raised its policy rate to 10.5% from 8.5% to mitigate persistent inflationary pressures and create preconditions for bringing inflation back within the medium-term target range, SEENews reported.
* North Macedonia's central bank decided to keep its key rate unchanged at 1.25% but said it will closely monitor macroeconomic trends and risks and is ready to adjust its monetary policy if needed.
Sheryl Obejera, Arno Maierbrugger, Danielle Rossingh, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Stéphanie Salti, Sophie Davies and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.
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