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Japan to punish cryptocurrency exchanges; State Bank of India penalized

GREATER CHINA

* Among China's 26 listed lenders, the provision coverage ratios of 24 banks were above the previous regulatory standard of 150% in the third quarter of 2017, with Bank of Nanjing Co. Ltd. at 459%, the country's National Business Daily reported. The ratios of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd., meanwhile, stood at 148.42% and 134.58%, respectively.

* Six Chinese insurance companies have announced plans to boost capital since January, two of which have already obtained regulatory approvals, International Financial News reported. Capital increases made by the insurers are mainly due to solvency or operational capacity issues, the publication noted, citing analysts.

* Moody's said new asset-liability management guidelines unveiled by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission are credit positive. The rules provide a comprehensive framework to support insurers' asset-liability management and introduce risk-adjusted measurements into quantitative scoring metrics, among other things, the rating agency noted.

* The Bankers Association of the Republic of China said a new rule in Taiwan imposing a NT$30,000 daily limit for ATM interbank deposits that took effect March 1 was made to prevent fraudulent transactions and safeguard clients' rights, the island's Economic Daily reported. The association is also considering letting banks ease the limit based on know-your-customer guidelines.

JAPAN AND KOREA

* Mie Bank Ltd. and Daisan Bank Ltd. are set to establish a joint holding company on April 2, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported. Mitsunori Watanabe, president of Mie Bank, will head San ju San Financial Group Inc. and said the newly formed company will aim to improve services for corporate customers through stronger ties with major shareholder Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.

* Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Co. is in discussions with Deutsche Bank AG to buy shares in the IPO of the German lender's asset management arm DWS, Reuters reported, citing "two people close to the matter." Nippon Life is looking to invest more than 3% in the unit, the sources said.

* Japan's Financial Services Agency will mete out punishments against a number of cryptocurrency exchange operators for not taking satisfactory measures to protect customers and prevent money laundering, The Nikkei reported. The regulator is likely to suspend the operations of certain exchanges and may ask others to improve their security measures or risk further punishment.

* Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd. unit Shinhan Bank Co. Ltd. opened a branch in Mexico City on March 6, Yonhap News Agency reported. The branch will initially focus on serving South Korean businesses in Mexico before catering to local companies in a few years.

ASEAN

* The Thai central bank's monetary policy for 2018 will be challenged by the process of normalizing interest rates, attempts to maintain economic growth and the management of capital flows, Post Today reported, citing Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, deputy governor of the Bank of Thailand and a member of the monetary policy committee. The Thai economy is expected to grow at least 4% this year.

* U.K.-based Prudential Plc and Great Eastern Holdings Ltd. are in talks to sell a 30% stake each in their Malaysian insurance units to comply with the country's foreign ownership rules, Reuters reported March 7, citing "people familiar with the matter."

* Rating & Investment Information Inc. has upgraded Indonesia's foreign currency issuer rating to BBB with a stable outlook, from BBB- due to satisfactory economic performance with low inflation and a stable fiscal deficit.

* The monetary policy committee of Bank Negara Malaysia decided to maintain its overnight policy rate at 3.25% amid sustainable growth prospects and lower inflation expectations. The regulator said it sees continued momentum for economic growth in 2018 as favorable income and labor market conditions support domestic demand and increased investments in the manufacturing and service sectors.

SOUTH ASIA

* The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of 4 million rupees on State Bank of India for breaching regulatory guidelines on detecting and impounding counterfeit notes. The central bank found that the lender failed to comply with the norms after inspecting two of the bank's branches.

* State Bank of India, IFCI Ltd. and United Bank of India are seeking interested parties to purchase their nonperforming loan portfolio of 163.49 billion rupees, Press Trust of India reported. The companies have invited bids from eligible banks, financial institutions, asset reconstruction companies and nonbanking financial companies to acquire the bad loans.

* Reliance Capital Ltd. said it has appointed Anand Natarajan as COO to develop synergies across businesses and drive performance. Prior to joining the company, he was most recently the head of strategy and business execution at Fullerton India Credit Co. Ltd.

* The Indian government is looking to set up 650 branches of India Post Payments Bank by April, Press Trust of India reported, citing Manoj Sinha, the country's minister of communication. Sinha said the branches will serve as controlling offices to provide services and monitor about 155,000 post offices acting as "last-mile access points" for the public.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* Nippon Life Insurance emerged as the front-runner to acquire a stake in Suncorp Group Ltd.'s life insurance business as the Australia-based insurer's auction of more than A$1 billion enters the final round, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk blog reported. Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. is also seen as a strong contender, while others including China's Fosun International Ltd. and American International Group Inc. have continued to bid.

* The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority warned banks, insurers and superannuation funds that a major cyber breach of a financial institution in the country is "probably inevitable," The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The regulator said some financial companies that have not conducted tests to deal with such an attack could be exposed to serious reputational and other risks.

* The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is expected to conduct a roundtable session to discuss the insurance sector's fraud investigation practices amid concerns over such activities involving private investigators, The Australian reported, citing Peter Kell, deputy chairman of the commission. ASIC plans to ask insurers to provide information about the industry's use of surveillance and private investigators and devise a mechanism to develop solutions to address investigating practices.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Middle East & Africa: Bank Leumi FY'17 profit up 13.7%; EU to remove Bahrain from tax blacklist

Europe: RBS settles US misselling claim for $500M; Deutsche Bank's DWS drawing interests

Latin America: Brazil court denies Lula plea to stay out of jail; SulAmérica names new VP

North America: Wells Fargo unit suing LJM Partners; RCB Holding buying Kansas' Central B&T

North America Insurance: UnitedHealth eyeing Envision unit; Trump wants concessions to back ACA fix plan

R Sio, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.

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