GREATER CHINA
* Chinese central bank veteran Yi Gang is expected to be appointed as the next governor of the People's Bank of China once the National People's Congress resumes March 19, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing "people with knowledge of the matter." Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly picked Yi, who is known for pushing pro-market overhauls, the report added. Yi currently serves as vice governor at the central bank.
* Ant Financial Services Group obtained a regulatory license to offer traded security backed by loans to online retailers, the first of its kind in China, the South China Morning Post reported. A unit of the payment platform operator is expected to launch 2 billion yuan of such asset-backed securities on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the report said, citing a statement from the bourse.
* The People's Bank of China imposed a fine of 163.1 million yuan and 13.3 million yuan on the Xiamen branch of China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd. and on Ping An Bank Co. Ltd. for breaches over clearing management, settlement account management and payment service management, among others, Caijing reported. The central bank conducted inspections on the two banks' payment settlement business between July 2017 and September 2017, and added that it will continue to step up supervisions on such businesses.
* China-based JD.com Inc.'s finance unit is looking raise about 12 billion yuan in fresh equity as it seeks to expand its business into banking, securities and insurance, Reuters reported, citing "three people with knowledge of the matter." JD Finance started the offering late in 2017 and the deal is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.
* Taiwan's Fubon Insurance Co. Ltd. said its investment in automation and AI has resulted in faster processing and claims assessment, with its processing time reduced by between three and seven days, the Taipei Times reported. The insurer plans to raise the proportion of machine-processed claims to 80% from 60%.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Tokyo-based Norinchukin Bank will replace CEO Yoshio Kono with Kazuto Oku, senior managing director, in the first change of CEO in nine years, Japan's The Mainichi Shimbun reported.
* Japan's Financial Services Agency will launch on-site inspections on anti-money laundering safeguards at regional financial institutions, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported. The FSA picked more than 10 regional banks and shinkin banks as the first targets.
* The FSA ordered Suruga Bank Ltd. to submit a report on its role in a failed shared housing property investment scheme, The Nikkei reported. Many investors lost the money they borrowed from Suruga Bank in the scheme.
* Seoul-based DB Insurance Co. Ltd. CEO Kim Jeong-nam was appointed CEO for the fourth consecutive term at a shareholders meeting held March 16, making him the longest-serving CEO in the South Korean insurance industry, The Financial News reported. Kim has been the company's CEO since 2010.
* The South Korean government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to join the U.S., Japan and other countries in disclosing monetary authorities' currency market interventions, Yonhap News Agency reported. The move is aimed at increasing international confidence in the transparency of South Korea's currency market management.
ASEAN
* U.K.-based HSBC Holdings PLC is expanding its Singapore operations to attract a bigger share of the consumer and wholesale banking business in the city, The Business Times reported. The lender plans to hire 300 more people mostly for its retail, commercial and private bank businesses as part of its expansion plan, said HSBC Singapore head Tony Cripps.
* Bank of the Philippine Islands obtained approval from the Philippine Stock Exchange to raise up to 50 billion pesos through an issuance of rights shares. The price of the issuance will be disclosed March 27, and the offer period will run from April 16 to April 25.
* Indonesia's Financial Services Authority expects local banks to see loan growth of more than 12% in 2018, due to a recovering global economy and a pickup in commodity prices, Reuters reported. Loan growth in the country's banking sector has fallen to below 10% since the start of 2016, compared to more than 20% during the commodity boom years, the report added.
* Bank Indonesia asked PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk to accelerate its migration from magnetic stripe to chip debit cards, after skimming incidents were reported in the province of East Java, Indonesian newspaper Kompas reported.
* The Indonesian government will conduct regular meetings with banks to determine industrially productive sectors that can get credit distribution, Bisnis Indonesia reported.
* Vietnam's Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank, or TPBank, will disclose the finalized list of its shareholders on March 21 before listing its shares on the Vietnamese bourse, Viet Nam News reported. The Vietnam Securities Depository will stop receiving trading orders for TPBank shares to allow the bank complete its listing proceedings, the report said. The offering is expected to raise more than US$100 million from both local and foreign investors.
SOUTH ASIA
* Bangladesh's central bank is proposing amendments to banking rules to provide insurance for depositors of nonbank financial institutions should a company goes into liquidation, The Daily Star reported. The draft Deposit Protection Act, 2017 will be sent to the finance ministry once stakeholders' opinions are taken, a senior executive from the central bank told the publication. Currently, only bank depositors are protected against potential bank liquidation.
* India-based Axis Bank Ltd. launched a new representative office in Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates to focus on remittance business, Press Trust of India reported. The lender announced the opening of the new office at a time when a fraud at Punjab National Bank pushed public lenders to curtail their overseas presence.
* Bandhan Bank Ltd.'s IPO received an overall subscription of 88% on March 16, the second day of the share sale, India's Mint reported, citing data from stock exchanges. The share sale will close March 19.
* Shriram City Union Finance Ltd. plans to issue secured redeemable nonconvertible debentures worth up to 5 billion Indian rupees on a private placement basis. The issuance is subject to approval from the board's banking and securities management committee.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* National Australia Bank Ltd. will shutter a number of branches across New South Wales as it ramps up its exit from regional Australia, The Australian reported. The lender confirmed that it was closing branches in Ardlethan, Lockhart, Grenfell, Culcairn and Barham in New South Wales, and at Boort and Euroa in Victoria. The branch closures are scheduled for June.
* Commonwealth Bank of Australia found "significant issues," including compliance with responsible lending laws, in its unit Aussie Home Loans, after running a confidential group audit, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The audit, which concluded in February, found that new issues emerged along with previous ones discovered from earlier audits. The bank is awaiting legal advice on whether the issues need to be reported to Australia's securities and investments regulator.
* Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Ltd. named Gail Costa as its CEO. Costa's appointment will be effective April 1.
Janna Estares, Sally Wang, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
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