* ECB executive board member Yves Mersch said digital currencies such as bitcoin need to be "rigorously supervised" along with banks and other financial institutions that trade them to ensure that risks stemming from such activities are contained, Reuters wrote. Meanwhile, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim echoed doubts about the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies, which he likened to "Ponzi schemes," Bloomberg News reported.
* In an interview with Bloomberg, Mersch said the ECB is preparing to launch its new 24-hour money transfer service, TIPS, which will allow transactions to be conducted in real time. Mersch said the service will provide a better alternative to distributive ledger technology, which is behind virtual currencies.
UK AND IRELAND
* Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Chairman Howard Davies denied accusations by British lawmaker Clive Lewis that the bank's executives misled the Treasury Select Committee "in evidence" over the extent to which its scandal-hit Global Restructuring Group division allegedly mistreated troubled small businesses, the Financial Times reported. In a letter, Davies reportedly said: "I would ask that you revisit the evidence for your comment as, without correction, there is a risk that the House has been misled."
* British Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly considering plans for an instant break from key EU regulations, including some on financial services, in a bid to maximize opportunities available to the U.K. after Brexit. Promoting the upsides of Brexit will reduce the overall economic costs of the EU withdrawal and would counter an impression that the government was in a permanent "defensive crouch" in negotiations with Brussels, one senior government official told Bloomberg News.
* Beazley Plc proposed a full-year 2017 divided of 11.1 pence per share, up 6% from 10.5 pence per share in 2016 despite its profit attributable to equity holders falling to $130 million from $251 million year over year. CEO David Horton attributed the profit decline to the "exceptional series" of natural disasters that struck the U.S., the Caribbean and Mexico in 2017.
* Brexit will pave the way for U.K. insurers to target priority markets like China and India, where the EU currently has no trade agreements, according to the Association of British Insurers. The trade body outlined proposals for future trade agreements with non-EU countries, including relaxing foreign ownership rules to allow insurers to take controlling stakes in companies in those countries, freeing up regulations on data transfer, and inclusion of pension and savings products.
* Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc plans to name an internal executive to replace Ulster Bank Ireland DAC CEO Gerry Mallon, who resigned last month to take over the same post at Tesco Bank, the Irish Independent wrote.
* Nationwide Building Society reported statutory profit after tax of £664 million in the nine months ended Dec. 31, 2017, down from the year-ago £684 million. Underlying pretax profit for the period came in at £883 million, compared to £866 million a year earlier.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* Zurich Insurance Group AG has identified France as a strategic country where it wants to grow, Les Echos wrote. One of the company's priorities will be to focus on complex risks in the French market.
* UBS Group AG has hired J.P. Morgan Private Bank executive Ronald Wehrli to head its ultra-rich banking business in the Middle East, Israel, Africa and Turkey starting in June, Finews.com wrote.
* The planned acquisition of Austria's Wiener Privatbank SE by Slovakian group Arca Investments looks to be in trouble with Austrian regulator FMA, after authorities in the Czech Republic raided the offices of the group's subsidiaries in January, Der Standard reported. Arca remains under investigation in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
* Austria's Volksbank Kärnten eG has fired CEO Edwin Reiter after an internal audit found irregularities in his personal expense report, according to an APA report carried by Die Presse.
* Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission publicly reprimanded Credit Suisse Group AG's local units and fined them a total of HK$39.3 million for internal control failures. The units include Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Ltd. and Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd.
* The Ford Motor Company has applied for a banking license in Germany and is looking to expand its banking business at its German headquarters, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.
* Deutsche Bank AG has started cutting staff at its U.K.-based investment bank, insiders told Thomson Reuters' IFR. Jonathan Gold, the bank's co-head of financial institutions origination for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has reportedly been put at risk of redundancy, with Gerald Podobnik reportedly set to become the sole head of the division.
* Former Credit Suisse Group AG broker Christopher Laver has accused the bank of withholding up to $300 million of pay owed to him and other U.S.-based brokers who refused or were unable to join Wells Fargo & Co. in 2015 as part of a recruiting agreement between the companies, Reuters wrote.
FRANCE AND BENELUX
* Amundi SA reported a consolidated net income group share of €209 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, up 37% from the year-ago period. The French asset manager, which booked full-year 2017 net income group share of €681 million, is targeting total net inflows of at least €150 billion over the next three years.
* Société Générale SA intends to proceed with its digitization by closing an additional 100 branches this year, L'Agefi reported.
* NIBC Bank NV said a review of strategic alternatives, which includes a potential IPO, is ongoing and preparations are progressing well.
* Two Rabobank executives in the Netherlands were aware of California-based unit Rabobank NA concealing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program, but did not report the matter, Het Financieele Dagblad reported. Rabobank is set to pay $368.7 million in fines for the wrongdoing.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
* An upgrade of Portugal's sovereign rating back to investment grade by Moody's is probable this year as the country has performed in line with expectations since September 2017, Reuters reported, citing Evan Wohlmann, a vice president at the rating agency. Moody's will review Portugal's sovereign ratings in April and October.
* Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA is looking to exit Chile completely and sell its profitable car-financing operation Forum, following the sale of its majority stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Chile SA to Bank of Nova Scotia, insiders told Pulso. BBVA's asking price for Forum is said to be around $1.00 billion, or four times its book value.
* Mapfre SA kept its 2017 dividend in line with 2016's after reporting a full-year 2017 net profit of €700.5 million, a 9.7% decrease from a year earlier.
ITALY AND GREECE
* Credito Emiliano SpA reported a profit of €40.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to €45.2 million in the previous quarter.
* BPER Banca SpA reported a net profit of €208.8 million for 2017, up from €18.7 million in 2016. BPER Group, meanwhile, reported a profit pertaining to the parent company of €176.4 million, compared to €14.3 million a year ago.
* An Italian judge scrapped a request to include Intesa Sanpaolo SpA in a case regarding the crash of Banca Popolare di Vicenza SpA, which it acquired last year along with Veneto Banca for a symbolic price of €1. The judge also ruled against including the Bank of Italy and market regulator Consob in the criminal proceedings, which concern Popolare di Vicenza ex-Chairman Gianni Zonin.
* The ECB's Governing Council did not object to a Bank of Greece request to reduce the limit on emergency liquidity assistance available to Greek banks by €2.2 billion to €19.8 billion.
* Banca IFIS SpA will distribute a dividend of €1 per share for 2017, a 22% increase from the previous year even though the company's net profit declined to €180.8 million from €697.7 million, MF reported.
* Mediobanca - Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA reported net profit of €175.4 million for the fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, up from €147.5 million in the same period a year ago.
* Unipol Gruppo SpA reported a full-year 2017 preliminary consolidated net loss attributable to owners of the parent of €345.8 million, compared to an attributable net profit of €329.6 million in 2016. Its main subsidiary, UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA, reported a year-over-year increase in attributable profit to €504.2 million from €497.4 million.
* Unione di Banche Italiane SpA posted a fourth-quarter 2017 reclassified consolidated net loss attributable to shareholders of the parent of €11.9 million, compared to a loss of €75.6 million from the stand-alone UBI Banca group in the year-ago period.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* DNB ASA nominated Olaug Svarva chairman of its board of directors. Svarva, who has been CEO of Norwegian state-owned firm Folketrygdfondet since 2006, will be formally elected to the position at DNB's April 24 annual general meeting. She replaces Anne Tanum, who is retiring.
* Anna Mossberg, Google Sweden's business area manager, has been nominated to join Swedbank AB (publ)'s board, wrote Dagens Industri.
* Nordea's cost-reduction program in Finland will result in the layoffs of up to 424 staff, a figure that emerged following talks between the company's management and officials from the Finnish trade union Nousu, reported Helsingin Sanomat.
* Nordic Capital and Sampo have launched a joint mandatory offer to acquire all outstanding shares in Nordax, a Stockholm-headquartered niche bank that specializes in providing unsecured consumer loans and deposit accounts, wrote Affärsvärlden.
EASTERN EUROPE
* The National Bank of Serbia kept its key policy rate on hold at 3.5%.
* The Russian central bank revoked the license of Commercial bank FINANCIAL-INDUSTRIAL CAPITAL (LLC) due to the lender's failure to comply with Russia's anti-money laundering legislation and involvement in dubious financial operations, Banki.ru reported.
* Komercní banka a.s. board proposed to pay a dividend of 8.9 billion Czech koruny, or 47 koruny per share, on its 2017 attributable consolidated net profit, up from 40 koruny per share offered a year earlier.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific: Authorities raid KEB Hana Bank's HQ; Philippines holds policy rate
Middle East & Africa: Hapoalim told to disclose more info about US probe; investors up Capitec stake
NOW FEATURED ON S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Brexit, Solvency II transform Gibraltar's insurance market: Gibraltar is no longer a haven for small start-up insurers with European ambitions, but the British territory is hoping that its other capabilities will maintain its attraction as an insurance center.
UniCredit resumes cash dividend as management is optimistic about 2018: CEO Jean-Pierre Mustier is confident about the Italian lender's turnaround and targets, telling analysts that it will propose a cash payout of 32 euro cents per share for 2017.
Société Générale expects French retail revenues to stabilize in 2018: The French lender expects revenues at its French retail bank to stabilize in 2018 and estimates that the revised Basel III banking standards will lead to a €38 billion increase in risk weighted assets at the bank.
Commerzbank to resume dividend payments a year early, CFO says: Commerzbank's top executives said the German lender is likely to resume dividend payments for the financial year 2018, having paid a dividend only once since its state bailout in 2008.
Bank of England holds interest rate, but sounds hawkish note: The Bank of England left the interest rate unchanged at 0.5%, but more hawkish sentiment from the Monetary Policy Committee suggests that further rate rises could be on the way later in 2018.
Atif Hussein, Ed Meza, Meike Wijers, Gerard O'Dwyer, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Stephanie Salti, Praxilla Trabattoni and Helen Popper contributed to this report.
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