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JPMorgan, Citi expand Japan desk; S&P cuts AMP; Shinsei Bank share sale

GREATER CHINA

* Xu Zhihong, former general manager of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.'s financial market department and CMB Wing Lung Bank Ltd., was released after being jailed for 26 months, Caixin reported. Xu, who was accused of receiving 2.4 million yuan of bribes, was acquitted after the court found that the evidence presented was not sufficient to charge him with the crime.

* China's sovereign credit ratings could come under increased stress if policymakers resort to more aggressive stimulus measures that worsen financial risks, S&P Global Ratings said in a new report. Ratings said the main risk to China's sovereign credit fundamentals would come from domestic factors and that the trade conflict with the U.S. "can be seen more as an unhelpful distraction for Chinese policymakers than a major hurdle to economic development."

* Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission said the Taiwanese financial sector's risk exposure to Hong Kong dropped to NT$993.4 billion at the end of July from NT$1.28 trillion at the end of June, the island's Central News Agency reported. The decline was likely related to political unrest in the city. The FSC said Taiwanese banks' loan extension in Hong Kong plunged NT$21.8 billion to NT$542.9 billion during the period.

JAPAN AND KOREA

* Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. formed a business alliance with cloud-based robo-advisory service WealthNavi, The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun reported. The Japanese insurer is looking to implement WealthNavi's technology to 550,000 customers.

* U.S.-based investment company J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC completed its secondary offering of up to 43,535,000 common shares in Japan's Shinsei Bank Ltd., Jiji Press reported. The shares were earlier priced at ¥1,387 each, for a total offer price of ¥60.38 billion. The Japanese government is now the largest shareholder in the bank with a 19% stake.

* JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are expanding their corporate Japan desk as they seek to capitalize on Japanese companies looking to expand overseas through acquisitions, The Nikkei reported. JPMorgan plans to boost its staff focusing on corporate Japanese clients by 20% this year, including hires in India, while Citigroup plans to boost its staff by 10%.

* Choi Jong-ku, chairman of South Korea's Financial Services Commission, said the financial regulator is in talks with banks and other organizations about potentially increasing financing to companies hit by Japan's export curbs, Yonhap News Agency reported. Japan officially removed South Korea from its whitelist of preferred trading partners Aug. 28, Jiji Press reported.

* Industrial Bank of Korea and Korea Securities Depository signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on financial projects, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported. Under the agreement, the state-run bank will provide strategic loans while KSD will offer zero-interest securities.

ASEAN

* Union Bank of the Philippines said its board approved a plan to issue up to 20 billion pesos of unsecured subordinated debt to be used as Tier 2 capital. Further, the board approved the redemption of the bank's 7.2-billion-peso unsecured subordinated Tier 2 debt due in 2025.

* S&P Global Ratings assigned its BBB+ long-term and A-2 short-term issue credit ratings to Bank of the Philippine Islands, with a stable outlook on the long-term rating. The agency said the ratings reflect the bank's market position as the third-largest bank in the Philippines, its good competitive position and its strong capitalization.

* Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the government is ready to set some contingency measures into motion, including widening the budget deficit and providing tax relief, to stimulate the domestic economy if the ongoing global financial crisis worsens, Bloomberg News reported.

SOUTH ASIA

* India's banking sector will likely experience prolonged pressure on asset quality and growth due to an expected increase in corporate defaults and stress in the nonbanking financial sector, S&P Global Ratings said. Ratings expects that the overall improvement in banks' asset quality will take a few years and will significantly hinge on the resolution of large nonperforming loans.

* Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd. said it defaulted on 47.1 million Indian rupees in interest payments on its 9.45% debentures. The debt-laden nonbanking financial company separately said its board will meet Aug. 30 to consider capital raising plans as part of its proposed resolution plan with its creditors.

* Suruchi Nangia is joining Bain Capital Credit LP as a director in October as part of U.S.-based holding company Bain Capital LP's plan to expand its special solutions and distressed assets business in India, The Economic Times reported, citing two people close to the development.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd. will stop issuing consumer credit insurance policies starting Sept. 30. The Allianz Group unit will also refund more than A$8 million in consumer credit insurance premiums and fees including interest to more than 15,000 consumers. The refund is connected to the sale of cover to consumers who were not qualified to make claims for unemployment or disability, among others.

* S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating on AMP Ltd. to BBB+ from A- as it expects the group's credit profile to weaken following the sale of AMP Life. Ratings also downgraded the long-term issuer credit rating on AMP Bank Ltd. to BBB+ from A-.

* Digital lender Moula is expanding its business with the launch of a new product and with plans to raise A$20 million, The Australian reported, citing CEO Aris Allegos. The company aims to tap the buy-now, pay-later segment with its Moula Pay offering, which provides payment terms of up to 12 months to borrowers.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Middle East & Africa: Nigeria sets bad-loan limit for banks; South Africa's JSE in 224.5M rand deal

Europe: LendInvest delays IPO; Deutsche's India expansion; Bank of Cyprus sees H1 profit

Latin America: Banco de Bogotá Q2 profit rises; BTG denies advising clients on money laundering

North America: 2 Iowa banks in deal; Moody's warns on Volcker rule; SEC's Jackson extends stay

Global Insurance: Slowing US life premiums; Dorian could become hurricane; China insurer results

R Sio, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.

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Descriptions of credit ratings in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings. The original S&P Global Ratings document referred to in this news brief can be found here, here, here, here and here.