TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES
* Thailand's central bank removed the limit for banks' investment in financial technology, previously capped at 3% of a lender's capital fund, as part of changes to rules for fintech and digital assets. But the updates also include a new limit on investment in digital assets-related businesses at 3% of the capital fund, the Bank of Thailand noted in a news release.
* National Australia Bank Ltd., or NAB, said it would buy back up to A$2.5 billion of shares after completing the repurchase of 86,925,469 ordinary shares for the same consideration. In a news release, the Australian lender said the additional buyback allows it to continue managing its common equity Tier 1 ratio toward its targeted range of 10.75% to 11.25%.
➤ Thai banks face systemic risks amid uneven recovery – S&P Global Ratings
Ratings expects the tourism sector to regain full potential only after 2024, while the Russia-Ukraine conflict could further delay the normalization of international tourist arrivals.
➤ New bank charter applications of 2022: Branchless Battle Bank in Colorado files
Avon, Colo.-based Battle Bank NA applied for deposit insurance with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., seeking to launch an online nationwide banking platform.
READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.
BANKING
* China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd.'s Hefei branch in China's Anhui province teamed up with the provincial government to provide credit financing services for enterprises, China Securities Journal reported.
* Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. said Jiang Yun-ming stepped down as chairman of its supervisory board due to a job arrangement. Jiang's resignation took effect March 23.
* Procrea Holdings Inc., based in Japan's Aomori prefecture, obtained a bank holding company license from Japan's Financial Services Agency, with effect from April 1.
The Financial Services Agency also approved The Michinoku Bank Ltd.'s plan to merge the lender with The Aomori Bank Ltd., under Procrea Holdings. Further, the agency approved requests from the two lenders for regional bank subsidies provided under the Act on Special Measures for Strengthening Financial Functions.
* SBI Group secured approval from India's central bank to boost its shareholding in ICICI Bank Ltd. to 9.99%. The approval remains valid until March 22, 2023, and requires the group to maintain its total shareholding in the bank below 10%.
* HDFC Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. each bought a 7.84% stake in Indian digital commerce infrastructure developer Open Network for Digital Commerce. Each lender paid 100 million rupees for 1,000,000 shares in the company, according to separate releases.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* CICC Carbon Futures ETF, China's first exchange-traded fund for carbon credit futures, debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange, the South China Morning Post reported. The China International Capital Corp. Ltd.-backed ETF is set to invest in the futures contracts of carbon emission permits traded in the EU.
* Tencent Holdings Ltd. President Martin Lau said the company is exploring putting WeChat Pay under a new financial holding company, CNBC reported. The comments came after Chinese authorities were reported to be considering regulations that would require the technology giant to carry out the restructuring.
* Ant Group Co. Ltd. named Jia Hang regional manager for Southeast Asia, Asian Banking and Finance reported. Hang will be based in Singapore, the group's regional headquarters for Southeast Asia.
* The Securities Commission Malaysia registered exchange operators Kapital DX Sdn. Bhd. and Pitch Platforms Sdn. Bhd. The registration paves the way for eligible companies to raise funds via the issuance of digital tokens in Malaysia through alternative avenues, the commission said in a news release.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* The China Securities Regulatory Commission is considering issuing a clear interpretation of the country's securities law in an effort to move past a long-standing stalemate with U.S. watchdogs regarding access to the audit work papers of U.S.-listed Chinese firms, Caixin reported, citing a source close to the regulator.
* South Korea's Financial Services Commission extended the availability of pandemic financial relief for small and medium-sized businesses and merchants by another six months until September 2022.
* The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand banned digital asset operators from promoting or supporting the use of digital assets as a means of payment to prevent negative impacts on the country's financial and economic stability, the commission said in a release. Existing digital asset operators must comply with this regulation within 30 days from April 1.
* Islamic banks and Islamic banking units in the Philippines are mandated to submit prudential reports formulated in existing formats to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as part of new reporting guidelines. These businesses are also required to submit supplemental reports to help generate industry statistics, according to the framework.
* The Reserve Bank of New Zealand launched a public material breach register where substantial violations will be published to encourage transparency in the financial sector. Banks found to have committed material violations are required to report such breaches to be posted on the register and the lender's website.
* The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is taking a closer look into the marketing of managed funds to identify any misleading performance and risk representations in promotional materials. The move is part of a probe over concerns that consumers are being misled about the funds' characteristics and underlying assets.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The office of South Korean President Moon Jae-in nominated Rhee Chang-yong, director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF, to become the next governor of the Bank of Korea.
* Angus Graham, former head of money markets at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., told Australia's Federal Court he was fired after disclosing an incident of sexual harassment at a conference in 2013 and complaining about the treatment of wholesale deposits for regulatory purposes, The Australian Financial Review reported.
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As of March 23, US$1 was equivalent to 6.37 Chinese yuan and 76.47 Indian rupees.
R Sio, Kanas Chan, Jonathan Cheah, James Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
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