Morgan Stanley raided in Germany; HSBC launches buyback; ANZ fiscal H1 profit up

TOP NEWS IN GLOBAL FINANCIALS

* German authorities raided Morgan Stanley's Frankfurt offices as part of a financial industry-wide probe into the so-called cum-ex tax fraud scheme, Bloomberg News wrote, citing a spokesperson for Cologne prosecutors. The U.S. bank reportedly confirmed the search, saying it was related to a historic activity and that it is cooperating with the authorities. Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch premises were also previously searched, the news agency noted.

* HSBC Holdings PLC launched today its planned share buyback program of up to $1 billion. The U.K.-based bank has appointed Merrill Lynch International as acting principal on the transaction, through which more than 2 billion ordinary shares could be canceled. Meanwhile, Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd.'s proposal to break up HSBC received a lukewarm response from the Asia-focused bank's investors, Reuters reported.

* Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. saw its cash profit from continuing operations for the fiscal first half ended March increase 4.1% year over year to A$3.11 billion, citing a boom in the housing market as a contributing factor. The bank declared a dividend of 72 Australian cents per share, up from 70 cents in the fiscal first half of 2021.

➤ Crédit Agricole faces political hurdles, UniCredit competition in BPM pursuit

The French lender's purchase of a 9.2% stake in the Italian bank sparked speculation that it is planning a takeover.

➤ Short sellers target consumer discretionary stocks, bet against home furnishers

Average short interest in consumer discretionary stocks has climbed to its highest level since January 2021.

READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.

US & CANADA

* Blairsville, Ga.-based United Community Banks Inc. will acquire Huntsville, Ala.-based Progress Financial Corp. and unit Progress Bank and Trust in an all-stock transaction with an aggregate value of approximately $271.5 million, or $23.52 per share of Progress common stock. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

* Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. dropped talks to acquire Brazilian cryptocurrency brokerage 2TM Participações SA, sources told Bloomberg News. The scrapped negotiations would have given Coinbase a controlling or a minority stake in the Brazilian firm, according to the report.

Click here for more of the day's essential bank and financial services news in the U.S. and Canada.

LATIN AMERICA

* Peru's Banking, Insurance and AFP Superintendency granted Banco Bci Peru the authority to operate, Diario Financiero reported. The company is still waiting on the registration of its shares with the Superintendence of the Stock Market and the Lima Stock Exchange.

* The central bank of Brazil estimated that 321 million reais were withdrawn from "leftover" funds in companies from March 7 to April 16, Valor Econômico wrote. The regulator, which processed the transactions through its System on Receivable Values platform, estimates there are still about 7.68 billion reais in receivables.

EUROPE

* Raiffeisen Bank International AG's first-quarter consolidated profit more than doubled on a yearly basis to €442 million from €216 million despite an increase in risk costs due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The Austrian lender, among Europe's most heavily exposed to Russia, warned that its 2022 provisioning ration will likely reach 100 basis points, up from its previous guidance of 40 bps.

* BNP Paribas SA pledged to stop financing any oil and gas projects and related infrastructure in the Arctic and Amazon regions this year. In its climate report, the French bank said it is looking to reduce financing in the power generation, upstream oil and automotive sectors by 2025 by at least 30%, 10% and 25%, respectively.

Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Europe.

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

* Kenya-based NCBA Group PLC intends to open 12 new branches in the country and two new ones in Rwanda as part of its bid to expand in its home market and in the region, Business Daily Africa reported.

* Companies in Kenya seeking to raise money privately are required to generate a list of potential investors before tapping the market for financing, Business Daily Africa wrote, citing draft regulations on public offers and listing of securities by the Capital Markets Authority. Firms must also provide the registry to the regulator before raising funds through private offers, among other proposed changes by the regulator.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* Members of the Bank of Korea's rate-setting board called for further rate hikes amid worries over rising inflationary pressures, The Korea Times reported, citing minutes of the most recent policy meeting. The central bank is set to hold its next meeting May 26, to be presided over by newly appointed Governor Rhee Chang-yong.

* The Australian central bank raised the key cash rate target by 25 bps to 0.35%, noting that more increases in interest rates are on the horizon.

Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Asia-Pacific.

Erin Tanchico and Ryan Jeffrey Sy contributed to this report.

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