S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of banking news stories and more published throughout the week. Please note that some entries may have links to third-party sources that may require a subscription.
M&A updates
* Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. agreed to sell its entire 55% stake in Cambodian joint venture ANZ Royal Bank (Cambodia) Ltd. to Japan-based J Trust Co. Ltd.
* Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.
* Union Bank of the Philippines received approval from the Philippine Competition Commission for its proposed acquisition of a 51% stake in PETNET Inc., the largest Western Union agent network in the country, from Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc.
* South Korea-based DGB Financial Group Co. Ltd. reportedly plans to resume its application for approval from the Financial Supervisory Service for its planned acquisition of
* Malayan Banking Bhd., or Maybank, closed the acquisition of Amanah Mutual Bhd. and Singapore Unit Trusts Ltd. from Permodalan Nasional Bhd.
* Pakistan's Bank Alfalah Ltd. agreed to divest its Afghanistan operations to Kabul-based Azizi Bank for an undisclosed sum.
Regulatory and legal developments
* South Korean prosecutors confirmed they have launched a criminal investigation into alleged hiring irregularities at Shinhan Financial Group Co. Ltd.
* Separately, South Korea's central bank and financial regulator are jointly examining the risk in corporate lending for some banks, including Industrial Bank of Korea, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank and BNK Kyongnam Bank, amid rising interest rates.
* Japan's Financial Services Agency is expected to sanction Suruga Bank Ltd. for alleged fraud over a failed loan involving a home sharing investment scheme.
* India's Allahabad Bank relieved Managing Director and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian of her duties after the country's investigation bureau named her in the US$2 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank.
* India's central bank barred Dena Bank from extending new loans and recruiting new staff.
* The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued new reporting standards for banks to reduce duplicate data submissions, effective Oct. 1, 2020.
Earnings corner
* Mizuho Financial Group Inc. reported a year-over-year decline in profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. reported year-over-year gains in net profit for the same period.
* Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India and Canara Bank all posted net losses for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31.
* Sri Lanka-based Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC's net profit for the first quarter increased year over year, while Bank of Ceylon reported a decline in net profit for the quarter.
* Phillipines-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. posted a year-over-year rise in consolidated first-quarter net income.
In other news
* Indonesia's central bank raised its benchmark seven-day repo rate by 25 basis points to 4.50%. Separately, Thailand's central bank maintained its policy rate at 1.50%.
* Agrani Bank Ltd., Janata Bank Ltd., Rupali Bank Ltd., Sonali Bank Ltd. and Investment Corp. of Bangladesh signed agreements to infuse 7.15 billion taka of capital into troubled Farmers Bank Ltd.
* Moody's said Bangladesh's bailout of Farmers Bank is credit positive for private-sector commercial banks as it reflects the government's willingness and ability to provide financial assistance to privately owned lenders.
* Fitch Ratings lowered its assessment of Hong Kong banks' operating environment to "a" with a stable trend from "a+" with a negative trend, citing the developing influence of links between the city and China.
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