GREATER CHINA
* The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission penalized Industrial Bank Co. Ltd., Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd., Shinhan Bank (China) Ltd. and Zhejiang Fuyang Rural Commercial Bank Co.Ltd. for violations including the illegal provision of loans, inappropriate investments in the banking industry and negligence in operations, National Business Daily reported. The lenders were fined 6 million yuan, 2.9 million yuan, 1.5 million yuan and 2.25 million yuan, respectively.
* Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. will buyback all US$2.94 billion and 12 billion yuan of offshore preference shares Dec. 10. The shares were issued in 2014. The bank said it received a "no objection" letter from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission regarding the matter.
* Chen Lin, former chairman of Hwabao Securities Co. Ltd., joined the asset management arm of China Pacific Life Insurance Co. Ltd. as general manager, Yicai reported. The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Tokyo Century Corp. will invest around ¥20 billion in Advantage Partners LLP to acquire 14.9% of the Tokyo-based private equity fund's outstanding shares, The Nikkei reported.
* Seoul-based Shinhan Bank Co. Ltd. issued 200 billion won of five-year covered bonds with a coupon of 1.45%, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported, citing the South Korean bank.
* South Korea's Lotte Insurance Co. Ltd. said in filings that JKL Partners Inc.'s special-purpose corporation has become its controlling shareholder, taking over a 53.49% stake from five existing shareholders, effective Oct. 10.
* The board of Lotte Insurance also approved a plan to issue 176,056,320 common shares to the JKL Partners special-purpose corporation and Hotel Lotte Co. Ltd. to raise 375 billion won, or 2,130 won per share, on Oct. 18.
ASEAN
* The World Bank Group expects Malaysia's economic growth to stand at 4.6% in 2019, supported by continued robust growth in private consumption amid stable labor market conditions, Bernama reported.
* JPMorgan Chase & Co. has established a trust company in Singapore that will focus on wealth management for high-net-worth individuals, Reuters reported. This is the U.S.-based bank's first such move in Asia.
* The Bank of Thailand clarified that lenders can give commercial loan defaulters undergoing debt restructuring access to capital via new loans without loan-loss provision requirements under the new Thai Financial Reporting Standard 9, Bangkok Post reported. Such loans would be treated as performing loans under the new standard, which will take effect in 2020.
* Vietnam's Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank increased its charter capital to 9.37 trillion dong from 7.7 trillion dong, becoming one of the country's top 15 banks by charter capital size, Viet Nam News reported.
* Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam received approval from the State Bank of Vietnam to open a branch in Australia within 12 months, Viet Nam News reported. The lender is looking to open the branch in Sydney.
SOUTH ASIA
* India's Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd. said in a filing that unit Edelweiss Asset Management Ltd. has approached the Mumbai High Court for the recovery of principal and interest dues from Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd. "in line with action taken by other peers in the industry." The Press Trust of India reported separately that Edelweiss' exposure to Dewan Housing Finance is less than 700 million rupees, quoting a source.
* India's Muthoot Finance Ltd. said in a filing that it would establish a global medium-term note program to raise up to US$2 billion via foreign currency bonds or rupee-denominated bonds in international markets. Separately, the Press Trust of India reported that the nonbank financial company's management agreed to employee demands for a raise in compensation, concluding a 52-day strike.
* Following a crisis at Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Ltd., the Indian government has ordered the creation of a committee to amend guidelines covering the regulation of cooperative banks, Mint reported, citing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
* India's IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Co. Ltd. sent a letter to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority denying that it had entered into an inappropriate deal with Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd. under which it was said to have hired a close relative of Parvez Ahmed Nengroo, former chairman of the bank, as part of their deal, The Economic Times reported. The insurer said it was falsely implicated in the 6-billion-rupee alleged fraud and denied that it had caused a loss to the exchequer.
* Urban cooperative banks in India decided to establish an umbrella organization with plans to apply for a nonbank financial company license, Business Standard reported, citing Subhash Gupta, chief executive of the National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies. The organization will provide liquidity support and self-regulation functions for member banks and will have 5 billion rupees in authorized capital.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Activist group Market Forces filed shareholder resolutions with Westpac Banking Corp., Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and National Australia Bank Ltd., which call on the banks to "disclose in annual reporting from 2020 strategies and targets to reduce exposure to fossil fuel assets" in accordance with goals set by the Paris Agreement on climate change, The Australian Financial Review reported. Market Forces previously had a hand in QBE Insurance Group Ltd.'s decision to quit the thermal coal segment, according to the report.
* CLSA Ltd. hired Trent Allen and Craig Wong-Pan as research analysts for its Australian equities team, The Australian Financial Review reported. Allen, who was previously with Citigroup Inc., will cover metals and mining in his new role. Wong-Pan was previously with Deutsche Bank AG and will cover media and technology.
* Australia's Netwealth Group Ltd. said in a filing that its funds under administration stood at A$25.3 billion as of Sept. 30, a year-over-year increase of A$6.0 billion. Meanwhile, its funds under management stood at A$4.4 billion for the period.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: QNB Q3 profit rises; Afreximbank plots London IPO; stable outlook for GCC banks
Europe: Banks' Brexit market mayhem plans; Tryg earnings; cum-ex conviction
Latin America: Panama extends intervention at AllBank; inflation in Brazil falls
North America: Fidelity latest to cut trading fees; SEC rejects Bitwise bitcoin ETF proposal
Global Insurance: Prudential Financial reclassifying vapers; CNA Hardy exit; Hagibis targets Japan
R Sio, Janna Estares, Emily Lai, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
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