UBS to acquire Wealthfront for $1.4B; BofA may move HK staff to Singapore

TOP NEWS IN GLOBAL FINANCIALS

* Switzerland's UBS Group AG agreed to acquire U.S. automated wealth manager Wealthfront Corp. in an all-cash deal valued at $1.4 billion. Wealthfront has roughly $27 billion in AUM and more than 470,000 clients in the U.S.

* Bank of America Corp. is examining which roles in certain business lines could be moved from Hong Kong to Singapore as strict pandemic control measures have led companies to review their operations in Hong Kong, the Financial Times (London) reported, citing unnamed sources.

➤ Most large banks book negative provisions in Q4'21

Of the U.S. banks with more than $10 billion in total assets that reported fourth-quarter 2021 earnings through last week, 32 out of 45 reported negative provisioning.

➤ Managers of $10 trillion in assets to cut portfolio emissions up to 65% by 2030

The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, with $10.4 trillion under management, will prioritize utilities and other high-emitting industries.

US & CANADA

* To retain talent, Bank of America is increasing the base salaries for its managing directors in investment banking and markets to $500,000 from $400,000, while directors' pay will rise to as much as $350,000 from $250,000, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Vice president and associate salaries will also increase.

* Four new shareholder petitions have been lodged at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make JPMorgan Chase & Co. either disclose climate-related information or adopt a policy ensuring its financing does not contribute to further fossil fuel supplies, the Financial Times reported.

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

LATIN AMERICA

* Chile's central bank hiked the benchmark by 150 basis points to 5.5% as inflation jumped 7.2% in December 2021, above the 4% ceiling set by the central bank. "The evolution of inflation continues to face significant risks and their possible materialization becomes especially relevant in a context where both the annual change in the [consumer price index] and its outlook are already high," the regulator said.

* Brazilian investment bank Banco BTG Pactual SA closed the purchase of the retail portfolio of Planner Corretora de Valores SA, also known as Planner Investimentos, for an undisclosed amount, Valor Econômico reported.

EUROPE

* Deutsche Bank AG's fourth-quarter 2021 profit attributable to shareholders rose year over year to €145 million from €51 million. The German bank said its full-year 2021 net profit of €2.51 billion was its highest since 2011 and announced €700 million of capital distributions, its first shareholder returns in several years.

* Swiss regulators are introducing a countercyclical capital buffer of 2.5% of banks' risk-weighted exposures secured against residential properties, effective Sept. 30. The Swiss Bankers Association criticized the decision, saying it does not fully consider the stabilizing factors in the local lending sector, Bloomberg reported.

* Barclays PLC and Starling Bank Ltd. are among the bidders for British specialist mortgage lender Kensington, which has also attracted the interest of Pimco and M&G Investments, Sky News reported. Kensington, previously known as The Northview Group Ltd., was put up for sale by its private equity owners in late 2021. The auction is reportedly likely to result in two separate deals, the combined price of which is expected to be at least £1 billion.

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

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

* First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC reported a net profit of 3.32 billion United Arab Emirates dirhams for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 3.23 billion dirhams a year ago. For full year 2021, net profit rose 19% to 12.53 billion dirhams from a year earlier. The bank's board recommended a dividend of 70 fils per share.

* United Arab Bank P.JSC named Abdul Haleem Sheikh CFO.

* S&P Global Ratings downgraded Burkina Faso's long- and short-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to CCC+/C from B/B and placed all ratings on CreditWatch with developing implications, citing heightened political, economic and financial risks following the recent military coup that ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* The Asian Development Bank, or ADB, launched a project under which it will work with blockchain companies to develop ways to directly connect central banks and securities depositories in the region of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three, which includes countries in the Southeast Asian bloc, Japan, China and South Korea. It aims to make cross-border securities more efficient and secure.

* The State Bank of Pakistan gave its in-principle approval to United Bank Ltd. for conducting due diligence to acquire the 84.51% stake in Samba Bank Ltd. held by The Saudi National Bank.

* The merger between Land Bank of the Philippines and United Coconut Planters Bank will take effect March 1, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' monetary board, the SEC and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. approved the merger, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

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

Pranav Nair, Abdelghani Henni and Ryan Jeffrey Sy contributed to this report.

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