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ING scraps CEO pay rise plan; Monte dei Paschi names CFO

* The European Commission proposed EU-wide measures designed to increase the use of covered bonds and facilitate the cross-border distribution of investment funds as part of plans to develop a capital markets union.

* Eurozone finance ministers were unable to make a breakthrough on an EU-wide deposit insurance scheme, with several European countries saying banks should first reduce their exposure to risks before work on such a scheme can begin, Reuters wrote.

* Digital currencies could be a valuable instrument in the monetary policy toolkit of central banks, but making them accessible to the general public could have wide-ranging implications for financial stability, according to a new report by two committees at the Bank for International Settlements.

UK AND IRELAND

* Legal & General Group Plc unit Legal & General Capital acquired the 52.1% stake that it did not previously own in U.K.-based housing development business CALA Homes for £315 million, plus additional transaction costs and financial adjustments.

* TP Icap Plc said it is in talks with a number of European financial regulators over the potential requirements should it choose to base its post-Brexit European hub in one of their locations.

* Old Mutual Plc said Travelers Cos. Inc. and St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. lodged a claim in the U.S. over pre-existing head office legacy items relating to previously disposed of U.S. assets. Old Mutual said the action is without merit, adding that the company will resist accordingly.

* Just Group Plc Deputy Chairman Tom Brown is set to retire at the company's annual general meeting May 17.

* Ed Sibley, deputy governor of the Irish central bank, said the regulator has seen a "significant step up" in applications by financial firms looking to relocate to the country to retain passporting rights due to Brexit, Bloomberg News wrote. Sibley also noted that some firms have been very comprehensive in making Brexit contingency plans from "the get-go," while others "have their heads in the sand."

* The Irish Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee is looking at introducing limits to banks' use of deferred tax assets in a bid to have them pay more taxes. The plan would hit Allied Irish Banks Plc and Permanent TSB Group Holdings Plc the most, The Irish Times reported, citing a note to clients from Goodbody Stockbrokers.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* UBS Group AG told staff that business is continuing as normal after disclosing that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission had suspended the bank from sponsoring IPOs for 18 months, Reuters reported. UBS said it could still sponsor IPOs until its planned appeal has been lodged.

* Österreichische Post AG CEO Georg Pölzl said the Austrian postal service is looking for a new banking partner until mid-2018 after it parted ways with Bawag PSK and has contacted some 40 potential parties, according to Die Presse.

FRANCE AND BENELUX

* ING Groep NV's supervisory board decided to withdraw a proposal to amend the remuneration policy for its executive board. The announcement comes after Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said he would not rule out an intervention to stop ING from giving its CEO Ralph Hamers a 50% pay rise to €3 million a year, Het Financieele Dagblad reported.

* Netherlands-based NIBC Holding NV will price its shares at €8.75 to €10.25 apiece as a part of its planned IPO, corresponding to an equity value of €1.28 billion to €1.5 billion for the company.

* Ageas SA/NV is facing a new legal challenge from some 1,300 shareholders in the former Fortis group who are unhappy with the settlement deal offered to them by the Belgium-based insurer, according to L'Echo.

* Australia-based Macquarie Group Ltd.'s Macquarie Investment Management will acquire Luxembourg-based ValueInvest Asset Management SA.

* Natixis will make strategic investments in U.K.-based M&A advisory firm Fenchurch Advisory Partners, Chinese cross-border transactions specialist Vermilion Partners and French M&A boutique Clipperton.

* Jean-Daniel Guyot has applied for a banking license to launch Margo Bank, which will target small and medium-sized enterprises, Les Echos wrote.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

* Spanish stock market regulator CNMV fined nine bar associations a total of €1.46 billion for making a collective price recommendation related to Bankia SA's controversial IPO in 2011, according to Expansión.

ITALY AND GREECE

* Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA named Andrea Rovellini CFO, replacing Francesco Mele, who resigned. Leonardo Bellucci succeeds Rovellini as chief risk officer.

* Banca Carige SpA's board approved a plan to relaunch its Banca Cesare Ponti SpA unit, MF said.

* Greece-based Eurobank Ergasias SA reported fourth-quarter 2017 net profit of €42.9 million, up from a loss of €15.3 million in the third quarter.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Nordea Bank AB (publ) has received support from several key investors, including Swedbank Robur Fonder AB, Alecta and Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co., for its plan to transfer its headquarters to Finland from Sweden, Bloomberg News reported. Nordea needs approval from two-thirds of shareholders represented at its annual general meeting Thursday.

EASTERN EUROPE

* J&T Finance Group SE, operating in central and eastern Europe, said it asked Chinese conglomerate CEFC for official explanations regarding media reports about its economic problems, adding that it will refrain from finalizing a deal offering CEFC a bigger stake in the group until the explanations are provided. CEFC China Energy already has a 9.9% stake in J&T Finance Group and wanted to raise the holding to around 50%, Reuters noted.

* Slovenia's Administrative Court ruled in favor of Croatia-based conglomerate Adris Grupa and its insurance unit CROATIA osiguranje dd in a lawsuit they launched against the Slovenian insurance regulator, after it barred the two companies from acquiring a stake of 20% or more in Slovenian reinsurer Pozavarovalnica Sava dd, SEENews reported.

* Absolut Bank PAO shareholders voted to terminate the powers of management board Chairman Andrey Degtyarev and appoint Tatiana Uskhova to the post, Vedomosti said.

* Alior Bank SA Deputy CEO Katarzyna Sulkowska is set to become acting CEO following the resignation of Michal Chyczewski from the post, Bankier.pl reported.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: Warburg Pincus in Vietnam deal; 2 Japan banks to merge; Lotte Card M&A gets nod

Middle East & Africa: QNB seeks higher foreign ownership cap; Ghanaian bank to raise 330M cedis in IPO

Latin America: Te Creemos to buy smaller rival; Moody's downgrades Venezuela

North America: Civista Bancshares buying Indiana's United Community Bancorp for $114.4M

North America Insurance: Insurers trick Medicare to boost revenue; Willis platform issues $52.6M cat bond

NOW FEATURED ON S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

EU to open up covered bond, investment fund markets: The European Commission has proposed a series of measures aimed at developing a capital markets union across the EU to promote cross-border investment and alternative sources of financing.

Bank of France to integrate ESG into investment strategies by 2018-end: France's central bank will become the first bank in the eurozone to apply a charter on environmental, social and responsible investing to its own investment strategy.

Leo Magno, Arno Maierbrugger, Danielle Rossingh, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Brian McCulloch, Sophie Davies and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.

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