GREATER CHINA
* Foreign banks are actively seeking opportunities to open outlets in the Greater Bay Area, which includes China's Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macau, Shanghai Securities News reported. The Greater Bay Area initiative aims to link the cities in the area to promote economic growth and cooperation, which could benefit foreign banks that set up shop there.
* The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission proposed a revision of rules that manage foreign-funded insurers. The regulator said that when forming a foreign-funded life insurance joint venture, a foreign insurance company can hold up to 51% of the company, up from a maximum of 50%.
* The Hong Kong Monetary Authority gave a go-ahead to set up virtual banks in Hong Kong and will be accepting the first batch of applications until Aug. 31, the South China Morning Post reported. Virtual banks will need to have a minimum capital of HK$300 million. The regulator expects to issue the first batch of licenses by the end of 2018 or in the first quarter of 2019.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Nomura Holdings Inc.
* Japan's ORIX Corp. is actively considering entering the renewable energy business in Europe, Bloomberg News reported. The company is looking to establish its presence in the market through M&As and is currently considering several deals ranging from tens-of-billions of yen to?400 billion.
* South Korean prosecutors filed an arrest warrant against KEB Hana Bank CEO Ham Young-jo, nearly two months after the country's financial watchdog found at least 32 cases of alleged hiring irregularities at the bank, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing prosecution officials.
ASEAN
* The Indonesian central bank raised its benchmark seven-day repo rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, as expected, in an attempt to curb the decline in the country's currency amid pressure from rising U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar, Bloomberg News reported.
* Japan-based Tokyo Century Corp. acquired a 5% stake in Indonesia' PT Bank Nationalnobu Tbk for about US$14 million. Bank Nationalnobu is a member of Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group, which in 2016 concluded a strategic partnership in digital and fintech business with Tokyo Century.
* PT Bank Permata Tbk sold all of its shares in financing firm PT Astra Sedaya Finance, Bisnis Indonesia said.
* Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Malaysia Bhd. appointed Tony Chin Kok Sang chairman, Bernama reported, citing a company statement. The appointment took effect May 15. Chin replaces Md Agil Mohd Natt, who retired April 1.
* Export-Import Bank of Thailand is offering local exporters, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, insurance cover against the risk of non-payment by buyers in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, Thailand's Manager Daily reported. The service aims to help boost Thailand's exports to the neighboring nations.
* Masaaki Suzuki, head of Bank of Ayudhya PCL's Japanese corporate and multinational corporate banking, said the Thai bank will continue expanding its customer base in the segment after seeing a 14.5% year-over-year increase in revenue from operations to 180 billion baht in the first quarter ended March 31, Manager Daily reported. He attributed the loan growth to favorable economic conditions in the country.
SOUTH ASIA
* India-based ICICI Bank Ltd. will start a probe into allegations made by a whistle-blower against its Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar. The allegations include Kochhar's noncompliance with the bank's code of conduct, to legal and regulatory provisions relating to "conflict of interest" over a period of time, among others. The probe will be headed by an "independent and credible person," the bank said.
* India's Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd. reported a net profit of 284.1 million rupees for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, compared to a net loss of 5.54 billion rupees in the prior-year quarter.
* Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency warned the country's central bank of the possible loopholes in internet banking and advised them to make certain amendments accordingly to ensure an error-free internet banking policy and save customers from fraudsters, The Express Tribune in Pakistan reported, citing a letter written to the central bank from FIA Director Usman Anwar. FIA suggested all banks to adopt certain security measures to avoid such frauds, following a series of complaints received by the agency.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* New Zealand regulators said they have not found any evidence of systemic misconduct in the banking system so far as part of their ongoing conduct and culture review, but noted their final findings in October or November may "test" their current stance.
* Commonwealth Bank of Australia's chief risk officer, David Cohen, admitted to a lack of compliance policies at the bank and a substandard control of nonfinancial risks during a hearing of the Australian banking royal commission, an inquiry into the country's scandal-ridden financial sector, The Australian reported. Cohen added that he had been working to improve the bank's management systems since taking office in 2016 as chief risk officer, including simplifying policies and better defining risks.
* Wayne Byres, chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, said the regulator is continuing to push banks to lower their reliance on the Household Expenditure Measure to better assess customers' living expenses before granting home loans, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. He also said that the financial system is stable despite misconducts revealed at the royal commission, adding that banks are more diligent in their lending.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: More Middle Eastern firms explore M&A; African states to discuss Chinese yuan
Europe: Italy crisis knocks bank shares; Deutsche Börse to buy FX trading platform
Latin America: Credicorp Chile $100M investment program; Brazil banks react to truckers strike
North America: Independent Bank buying MNB Bancorp; National Bank of Canada's fiscal Q2 EPS up
North America Insurance: Egan-Jones sides with AmTrust; WellCare in $2.5B deal; Berkshire top 3 reinsurer
Janna Estares, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.
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