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South Korea files charges against 5 banks; Chinese bank raises 2.53B yuan in IPO

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South Korea files charges against 5 banks; Chinese bank raises 2.53B yuan in IPO

* U.S. Federal Reserve officials kept interest rates unchanged and signaled that they see more signs that inflation appears to be strengthening and that more rate hikes are coming from the country's central bank in 2018. The Federal Open Market Committee kept the benchmark federal funds rate at a target range of 1.25% to 1.5%.

GREATER CHINA

* The Shanghai office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission ordered commercial lenders to "strictly control" acquisition loans for financing property development projects, Reuters reported, citing "two sources with direct knowledge of the matter." The regulator said an acquisition loan should only be granted if the project has reached more than 25% of completion, according to sources who have seen an internal notice dated Jan. 29.

* The People's Bank of China said variable policy settings around cross-border yuan account financing could help rein in "herd" effects in markets and improve the country's financial supervision, Reuters reported, citing the bank's response to the news outlet's questions on the matter. The central bank said earlier in January that the upper limit of local commercial banks' cross-border financing, which currently stands at 3%, is determined by their outstanding deposits and a countercyclical factor.

* China-based Bank of Chengdu Co. Ltd. debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Jan. 31, raising 2.53 billion yuan from its offering of 361 million shares, Caixin reported. The lender's shares jumped 44% in its first day of trading.

* China Everbright Ltd. CEO Chen Shuang said the company and its Hong Kong-listed aircraft leasing unit are looking to launch a Silk Road Fund to invest in aircraft leasing and related businesses, the South China Morning Post reported. The company's talks with Chinese institutions and departments are ongoing, Chen said, adding that the size of the fund could not be estimated yet.

JAPAN AND KOREA

* Japan's Shinsei Bank Ltd. said the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau's back-tax assessment on the bank could reach ¥16 billion in light of the ¥175 billion it received from U.S.-based General Electric Co. in February 2014 to cover refund obligations at GE's local consumer finance business, which the Japanese bank earlier acquired, The Nikkei reported.

* Japan-based Hirogin Lease Co. Ltd., a unit of Hiroshima Bank Ltd., will absorb the operations of its wholly owned car rental unit, Hirogin Auto Lease Co. Ltd., effective April 1, to improve efficiency, The Nikkei reported.

* Japan's T&D Holdings Inc. appointed Executive Vice President Hirohisa Uehara as president, The Nikkei reported. The appointment is effective April 1.

* South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service filed criminal complaints against KEB Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Daegu Bank Ltd., BNK Busan Bank Co. Ltd., and Kwangju Bank, Ltd. in connection with hiring irregularities, The Chosun Ilbo reported. The nephew of KB Financial Group Inc. CEO Yoon Jong-kyoo was cited among those who obtained employment through inside-track preferential treatment.

* South Korea's FSS will start regulating the group-connected financial risk of 97 financial institutions affiliated with seven business conglomerates, The Chosun Ilbo reported. Samsung, Hyundai Motor, Kyobo Life Insurance, Mirae Asset, Hanwha, DB and Lotte are subject to the new group-wide financial regulation.

* Kim Dong-yeon, South Korea's finance minister, said the government has no plans to shut down cryptocurrency trading in the country, adding that its immediate task is to regulate exchanges, Reuters reported. This comes after government officials made conflicting comments that Seoul was looking to ban digital coin exchanges. Meanwhile, the country's customs service said it uncovered US$600 million of illegal cryptocurrency foreign exchange trading.

* South Korea-based Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. Ltd. said it will buy 2.24 billion new shares of Mirae Asset Securities (HK) Ltd by investing about 310 billion won in the company, making the Hong Kong unit its wholly owned subsidiary, Yonhap News Agency reported.

ASEAN

* The Bank of Thailand received requests from six financial institutions looking to establish their own online marketplace platform, after the regulator required such institutions to inform the central bank of their plans at least 30 days before setting up shop, the Bangkok Post reported. Deputy Governor Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya said five of the institutions are banks, while the other one is a nonbanking unit of a lender. The move comes amid increasing competition from giant e-commerce companies and changes in customers' behavior.

* The Stock Exchange of Thailand affirmed that it will start the implementation of the two-day settlement cycle, or T+2, on March 2, Daily News reported.

* Indonesian lender PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk posted a 2017 net profit of 20.01 trillion rupiah, a 53.09% increase from the 13.07 trillion rupiah recorded in the prior-year period, Bisnis Indonesia reported. President Director Kartika Wirjoatmodjo said the increase is supported by the rise in noninterest income and operational cost control.

* Preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed that the country's bank lending dropped 0.3% in December 2017 from the previous month, The Straits Times reported. Business loans fell 0.8% to S$390 billion during the period, compared to a 0.5% growth in November 2017, the data showed. Meanwhile, consumer loans grew 0.4% to S$262 billion in December 2017, compared to a 0.9% gain in the previous month.

* Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, or Techcombank, posted a 2017 pretax profit of more than 8 trillion dong, Viet Nam News reported. This is the third consecutive year in which the lender's pretax profit was double that of the prior year, the report said.

SOUTH ASIA

* India-based ICICI Bank Ltd.'s net profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, fell year over year to 18.94 billion rupees, or 2.92 rupees per share, from 26.11 billion rupees, or 4.06 rupees per share. On a nonconsolidated basis, net profit dropped year over year to 16.50 billion rupees, or 2.55 rupees per share, from 24.42 billion rupees, or 3.80 rupees per share.

* India's IDBI Bank Ltd. said its stand-alone net loss for the fiscal third quarter narrowed year over year to 15.24 billion rupees, or 6.23 rupees per share, from 22.55 billion rupees, or 10.95 rupees per share, in the year-ago period.

* Union Bank of India off-loaded its entire 10% shareholding in Experian Credit Information Co. of India Pvt. Ltd. on Jan. 30 for an undisclosed sum.

* Bank of India CEO Dinabandhu Mohapatra said the lender has recovered 30 billion rupees since it was placed under a prompt corrective action by invoking standby letter of credit, or SBLC, The Economic Times reported. Mohapatra added that the remaining loans under SBLC are set to be recovered "in the next one month or so."

* BNP Paribas SA's Indian unit named Suneet Weling as its new managing director and head of advisory, capital markets and financing, Mint reported, citing "multiple people aware of the development." Weling joins from Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., where he was executive director in the investment banking division.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* U.S.-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is said to have joined the lineup of banks working on the IPO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia unit Colonial First State Global Asset Management, which is likely to launch later in 2018, The Australian reported. Separately, Blackstone Group LP emerged as a suitor for Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. unit UDC Finance Ltd., which has been up for sale through investment bank Deutsche, the report said.

* Commonwealth Bank of Australia said it acknowledged the release of a progress report by a panel established by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, or APRA, to conduct an inquiry into the lender's governance, culture and accountability frameworks and practices. APRA said in a release that the panel will reserve its substantive findings and recommendations for inclusion in its final report, which is set to be provided to the regulator by April 30.

* Data from the Reserve Bank of Australia showed that the value of home loans written in 2017 increased 6.3% year over year, which is well above the year-end inflation rate of 1.9%, The Australian reported. Separately, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority released lending data showing that the value of loans rose 5.6% over the same period to A$1.6 trillion. The publication noted that the difference between the RBA growth rates and APRA's figures illustrate that the shadow banking sector continues to expand rapidly.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Middle East & Africa: UAE to keep currency peg; Amlak Finance COO resigns; Kenyan bank to cut jobs

Europe: Santander Q4'17 profit falls; ING banks on blockchain; Julius Bär in Brazil deal

Latin America: Santander Brasil books higher profit; bids due for Garantía de Valores

North America: Morgan Stanley removing 600 funds; BB&T sells domestic factoring portfolio

North America Insurance: MetLife's credibility dented with reserve charge; Anthem Q4'17 net income grows

Janna Estares, Sally Wang, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.

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