GREATER CHINA
* Wang Yincheng, former president at People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China Ltd., was fined 1 million yuan and sentenced to 11 years in prison for accepting more than 8.7 million yuan of bribes, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a statement by the Intermediate People's Court of Fuzhou in Fujian, China. The country's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection placed Wang under investigation in February 2017 for "suspected serious disciplinary violation."
* The People's Bank of China and the State Bank of Pakistan extended a currency swap deal worth 20 billion yuan, or 351 billion Pakistani rupees, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a statement from the Chinese central bank. The agreement is valid for three years and can be extended upon mutual consent.
* China's central bank is launching a new round of financial statistics checkup, which will last from May to October, to better implement monetary policy regulations and macroprudential policies, Reuters reported. The asset management statistics system is expected to come out within 2018, the news outlet said.
* Bank of Taiwan's representative office in Frankfurt has commenced operations, making it the first Taiwanese lender with an outlet in Germany, the island's Liberty Times reported.
* Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission said the island's life insurance industry suffered a loss of NT$8.5 billion in April due to a net exchange loss, the island's Economic Daily reported. It was the fourth straight month that the sector saw an exchange loss, according to the report, adding that exchange losses for the first four months of 2018 totaled NT$68.7 billion.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is looking to raise €350 million via an issuance of senior unsecured notes, Fitch Ratings said. The notes are likely to be issued May 30 and are expected to count toward the company's total loss-absorbing capacity requirements, which come into effect end-March 2019.
* Japan-based Nippon Life Insurance Co. will set up a new unit by April 2019 to market discount medical insurance and other niche insurance products through walk-in insurance shops, The Mainichi Shimbun in Japan reported.
* Seven Japanese regional banks will set up a fintech joint venture as early as June to help it find new credit demand from businesses by analyzing their payment data, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported.
* South Korea's Mirae Asset Daewoo Co. Ltd. and Japan's ORIX Corp. have jointly submitted a letter of intent to participate in the acquisition of South Korea-based MG Non-Life Insurance Co. Ltd., FNTIMES in South Korea reported.
ASEAN
* The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas decided to trim the reserve requirement ratio for Philippine lenders by 1 percentage point, marking the second adjustment the central bank made in 2018. The authority lowered the level of deposits lenders are required to maintain to 18% from 19%, effective June 1.
* The Monetary Authority of Singapore reminded eight local digital token exchanges to seek the central bank's authorization if the digital tokens traded on their respective platforms are securities or futures contracts. The authority also barred an initial coin offering issuer from offering digital tokens to Singapore-based investors.
* Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng confirmed media reports that the previous government led by former Prime Minister Najib Razak used deals with the Bank Negara Malaysia and sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. to pay off debt of troubled state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, Reuters reported. The official said the ministry has so far paid 6.98 billion ringgit.
* Malaysia's central bank raided Axios Group Sdn. Bhd. in a district in Kuala Lumpur as the company is suspected of using the word "bank" in their property signage and websites without approval, the country's The Star reported. The authority told the public to refer to its website for licensed financial institutions, and to be cautious of those which use the word "bank" without a permit.
* Perry Warjiyo was officially sworn in as governor of Bank Indonesia for the 2018 to 2023 period, Kompas reported. Separately, Warjiyo predicted that the country's economic growth in 2018 will only reach 5.2%, Bisnis Indonesia reported.
* Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) PCL is the first bank in Thailand to offer a cash management system by using a virtual account, the country's Daily News reported. The bank said the service, which it says can boost efficiency and lower costs for its clients, has already been available in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
SOUTH ASIA
* APAC Financial Services, an India-based nonbanking financial firm, is in early talks with private equity firm Multiples Alternate Asset Management Pvt. Ltd. to raise 3 billion rupees, Mint reported, citing two unidentified sources. The money will be used to fund its nonbanking financial company and housing finance business, according to one of the sources.
* India's Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said in a tweet that Charan Singh, Anjali Bansal and Tapan Ray were appointed as nonexecutive chairpersons of Punjab & Sind Bank, Dena Bank and Central Bank of India, respectively, Press Trust of India reported. The appointments are part of the government's agenda to reform public sector lenders following a series of frauds and mounting bad loans in the sector.
* India-based Airtel Payments Bank Ltd. named Anubrata Biswas its managing director and CEO, Press Trust of India reported, citing a company statement. Biswas was previously joint general manager and retail business head for South Asia at ICICI Bank Ltd.
* World Bank Group private investment arm International Finance Corp. inked a loan mandate with Nepal Investment Bank Ltd., subject to approval from the Nepal Rastra Bank, The Himalayan Times reported. The loan will be allocated mainly to support priority sector industries as defined by the central bank.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Commonwealth Bank of Australia admitted at the royal commission, an inquiry into the country's scandal-plagued financial sector, that it double-charged interest to more than 2,500 customers between about 2013 and 2017 due to a coding error, Reuters reported. The lender had refunded A$2.7 million after a series of complaints started in 2013, but it had failed to report the matter with the country's corporate regulator until recently.
* The latest results of Australia's major banks — Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp. — showed robust asset quality and higher profitability, but challenges became apparent, according to Moody's. The rating agency said the challenges include higher mortgage arrears and continued margin pressure as slower credit growth in the next 18 months could boost competition.
* New Zealand-based Fidelity Life Assurance Co. Ltd. made a bid earlier in May to acquire Australia & New Zealand Banking Group's OnePath Life (NZ) Ltd. business in New Zealand, The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk blog reported. The offer is up against bids lobbed by rival local insurers Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Ltd. and Partners Life Ltd. The publication added that ANZ is weighing the bids and is looking to have a deal signed in the coming weeks.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: Deutsche Bank to cut South Africa ops; 2 Omani banks to weigh potential merger
Europe: Deutsche Bank to cut jobs in equities business; Turkish central bank hikes rate
Latin America: Accendo to complete Deutsche Bank México buyout in June; S&P downgrades Bolivia
North America: Morgan Stanley CEO targets $1 trillion in client assets; Coinbase buys Paradex
North America Insurance: Cyber claims soar as GDPR nears; reinsurance renewals to slump
Janna Estares, Sally Wang, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
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