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.
Earnings results
* Axis Bank Ltd. reported a consolidated net profit of 44.34 billion rupees for the fiscal fourth quarter, up 49.8% from 29.60 billion rupees in the same period last year. The lender's consolidated net profit for the fiscal year ended March 31 amounted to 141.64 billion rupees, up 95.3% from 72.52 billion rupees in the prior year.
* ICICI Bank Ltd. reported a consolidated net profit of 77.19 billion rupees for the three months ended March 31, rising from 48.86 billion rupees in the same period a year prior.
* Indonesia's PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk posted a consolidated profit after tax and minority interest of 10.032 trillion rupiah for the first quarter, up 69.52% from 5.918 trillion rupiah in the prior year.
* China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd.'s net profit attributable to shareholders increased 1.98% year over year to 11.75 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2022.
* The Siam Commercial Bank PCL's consolidated net profit for the first quarter rose 1% year over year to 10.2 billion baht on higher net interest income and lower provisions.
* BDO Unibank Inc. posted a net income of 11.7 billion pesos for the first quarter of 2022, a 13% year-over-year rise driven by the lender's core businesses.
* DBS Group Holdings Ltd. logged a net profit of S$1.80 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, down 10% from S$2.01 billion in the year prior.
* United Overseas Bank Ltd. reported a net profit of S$906 million for the first quarter, down 10% from S$1.01 billion in the prior year. The Singapore-based lender's net fee income for the quarter fell 8% year over year to S$572 million.
* Nomura Holdings Inc.'s net income attributable to shareholders for the fiscal year ended March 31 fell 7% year over year to ￥143.00 billion. The company's net income attributable to shareholders for the fiscal fourth quarter declined 49% to ￥31 billion from the last quarter.
* Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.'s profit attributable to shareholders for the quarter declined 31% year over year to HK$2.7 billion.
M&A and investments
* AMP Ltd. lodged an offer to acquire Westpac Banking Corp.'s investment platform, which is being sold via a A$1 billion-plus auction, The Australian reported, citing sources close to the matter.
* Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. is negotiating to acquire a minority stake in U.S.-based independent investment bank Marathon Capital LLC, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
* Hana Financial Group Inc.'s Hana Financial Investment Co. Ltd. unit signed an agreement to acquire a 35% stake in Vietnam's BIDV Securities JSC under a 142.00 billion South Korean won deal.
* Mirae Asset Securities Co. Ltd. said its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mirae Asset Securities Holdings (USA) Inc., will absorb the operations of its wholly owned unit Mirae Asset Wealth Management (USA) Inc.
* Morningstar Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Praemium Ltd.'s international business obtained all regulatory approvals from the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K. and the Jersey Financial Services Commission.
* Hana Financial Group will invest about 500 billion won in Hana Financial Investment via an acquisition of 5,875,000 new shares in the unit.
Regulation and policy
* Australia's Federal Court imposed a monetary penalty of A$40 million on Westpac Banking Corp. for charging advice fees to over 11,800 deceased customers. The case is the last of the six proceedings lodged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
* The Reserve Bank of India fined Central Bank of India 3.6 million rupees over noncompliance with some of the regulator's directions on customer protection related to unauthorized electronic banking transactions. The central bank also ordered Bank of Maharashtra to pay 11.2 million rupees for multiple regulatory breaches.
* The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved sanctions on BDO Unibank and Union Bank of the Philippines over compromised online services in December 2021.
* Bangladesh Bank instructed lenders to increase the working capital credit limit for maintaining the productivity and momentum of the country's economic activities, The Financial Express reported, citing a central bank circular.
* The Philippine central bank is planning a pilot project that will test the 24/7 use of a wholesale central bank digital currency for large-value financial transactions.
* Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. filed a claim against Chinese developer Shimao Group Holdings Ltd. and a unit over a revolving credit facility agreed to in October 2021, Bloomberg News reported, citing a Hong Kong court filing.
In other news
* The government of India trimmed the size of the IPO of Life Insurance Corp. of India or LIC, by as much as 60% amid weakened investor demand due to the conflict in Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
* Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. partnered with Singapore-based MetaVerse Green Exchange to develop new green financing solutions, including tokenized carbon credits, for large corporates seeking a path to carbon neutrality.
* The Siam Commercial Bank will proceed with the listing of SCB X PCL shares on the Thai bourse after over 99% of its shareholders accepted the lender's share swap tender offer.
* KEB Hana Bank opened an office in Taipei, becoming the first South Korean commercial bank to establish a branch in Taiwan, The Korea Times reported, citing the lender.
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