GREATER CHINA
* The China Banking Regulatory Commission imposed a penalty of 52.5 million yuan on 19 lenders over fraudulent loans of up to 19 billion yuan in the country's Shaanxi and Henan provinces, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the regulator. The banks, including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Postal Savings Bank of China Co. Ltd., were fined for granting loans to individuals who illegally used gold of low purity as pledges, the regulator said.
* The People's Bank of China is curbing Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s efforts to develop "social credit" scores for consumers, which are partly based on their online activities, the Financial Times reported. A central bank official said the PBOC, which is developing its own scoring system, is concerned that the credit scores created by the conglomerates will be used as marketing tools to sell products, including risky investments.
* South Africa's central bank fined China Construction Bank Corp. 75 million rand over noncompliance with the country's financial intelligence guidelines, Reuters reported. The central bank noted that the Chinese lender was fined because of weaknesses in its control measures and not because it was found to have facilitated transactions involving money laundering and terrorism financing.
* China Huarong Asset Management Co. Ltd. established an online platform, named Huarong Zhongguancun Distressed Asset Exchange Co., dedicated to the trading of bad debt, China Daily reported. The new entity, in which China Huarong holds a 58% stake, will have a registered capital of 500 million yuan.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Japan's Financial Services Agency has instructed all cryptocurrency exchanges in the country to conduct internal inspections based on a 43-item checklist, which includes their business management systems, Jiji Press reported. The move came following a cryptocurrency theft of ¥58 billion at bitcoin exchange operator Coincheck Inc. in late January.
* Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. has appointed Saburo Araki, vice president at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., as head of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd., effective April 1, The Nikkei reported. The decision is subject to approval by the group's governance committee.
* Japan-based Hokuetsu Bank Ltd. will introduce a new service in May that lets customers withdraw cash at Seven Bank Ltd.'s 24,000 ATMs using smartphones and without having to use cash cards, The Nikkei reported.
* South Korea-based KEB Hana Bank and KB Kookmin Bank were suspected of making lists to give undue hiring favors to influential figures' families and acquaintances, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unnamed sources. The lists by KEB Hana Bank and KB Kookmin Bank included 55 and 20 people, respectively, who all passed the lenders' initial screening process in 2015 and 2016, the sources said.
ASEAN
* Indonesia's Financial Services Authority has revoked PT AXA Life Indonesia's business license after its merger with PT AXA Financial Indonesia, in compliance with the country's single presence policy, Netral English reported. All rights and obligations to third parties, creditors and policyholders of AXA Life were transferred to AXA Financial.
* PT Bank Resona Perdania, an Indonesia-based unit of Japan's Resona Bank Ltd., is considering doubling its capital amid increasing demands from clients, The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reported. The company currently holds about 2.5 trillion rupiah in Tier 1 capital.
* Indonesian lender PT Bank Harda Internasional Tbk plans to offer 20% of its shares through a rights issue in March, Bisnis Indonesia reported. CEO Barlian Halim said the bank expects to receive fresh funds of 100 billion rupiah.
* PT Bank China Construction Bank Indonesia Tbk appointed You Wen Nan as its CEO, pending regulatory approval, Bisnis Indonesia said.
* Bank Negara Malaysia and the National Bank of Cambodia are planning to link ATM networks in both countries to facilitate efficient cross-border cash withdrawals and retail payments. The central banks also agreed to boost collaboration on the application of technology in financial inclusion.
SOUTH ASIA
* Union Bank of India posted a net loss of 12.50 billion rupees for the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, compared with a net profit of 1.04 billion rupees in the year-ago period. The lender's loss per share came in at 16.63 rupees, against an EPS of 1.51 rupees for the prior-year quarter. Separately, the bank is said to have classified debt-ridden Reliance Communications Ltd. as a nonperforming loan in its latest report, The Economic Times reported, citing "two senior officials who did not want to be named."
* India-based ICICI Bank Ltd. expects its domestic net interest margin to be stable in the quarter ending March 31 at about 3.50%, Press Trust of India reported, citing Executive Director N. S. Kannan. The lender posted a consolidated third-quarter net profit of 18.94 billion rupees, compared with 26.11 billion rupees in the prior-year quarter.
* India's YES BANK Ltd. will issue US$600 million of fixed-rate notes under its US$1 billion medium-term note program. The five-year notes, which bear an annual coupon of 3.75%, will be issued Feb. 6.
* Allianz Group unit Allianz Insurance Lanka Ltd. agreed to acquire a 100% stake in Janashakthi General Insurance Ltd., a unit of Sri Lanka-based Janashakthi Insurance PLC, for 16.4 billion rupees. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter, subject to regulatory approval.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Commonwealth Bank of Australia convinced the country's federal court that it should be given more time to prepare as its rival lenders were accused of rigging the bank bill swap rate after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission began legal proceedings against the bank Jan. 30, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The bank was allowed to file its defense within three months after receiving a full statement of claim, which is expected to be filed by the regulator in early March.
* Westpac Banking Corp. is seeking to raise about A$750 million through an offer of notes referred to as Westpac Capital Notes 5. The proceeds from the offer, which is expected to open Feb. 13, will be used by the bank for general business purposes. The notes will qualify as Additional Tier 1 capital under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's capital adequacy framework.
* Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd. is expected to upgrade its full-year profit outlook Feb. 6, with investors watching the bank's commitment to its on-market share buyback of up to A$1 billion, The Australian reported. The planned share repurchase was unveiled by the group in its half-year results in October 2017.
* China Construction Bank opened a branch in New Zealand, making it the first overseas lender approved under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's dual-registration rules, BusinessDesk reported. Operating a local branch will enable the business to access funding from its Chinese parent more easily, the report said. The bank first established a subsidiary in the country in 2014.
R Sio, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.
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