* U.S. specialist litigation firm Hausfeld LLP has launched a collective action in the U.K. against Barclays PLC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, UBS Group AG, Citibank, JPMorgan and MUFG Bank, claiming that the banks took part in unlawful foreign exchange trading cartels, the Financial Times reported.
* The U.K., France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia opposed several new rules saying which financial products could be regarded as green and sustainable over concerns on their impact on investments in nuclear or coal projects, Reuters reported.
UK AND IRELAND
* British voters are set to take part in general elections today that will either allow Prime Minister Boris Johnson to continue Brexit or push the U.K. closer to another referendum that could reverse its departure from the EU, Reuters wrote.
* British challenger banks, including Virgin Money UK Plc, TSB Banking Group PLC, Metro Bank PLC, Co-operative Bank PLC, Secure Trust Bank PLC, Monzo Bank Ltd. and Starling Bank Ltd., have urged the Bank of England to loosen postfinancial crisis rules they say are hampering their efforts to compete with the big six lenders in the U.K., insiders told Reuters. The midtier banks reportedly want the central bank to scale back their minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities.
* Barclays is selling its U.S. equities automated options trading unit to electronic market maker Global Trading Systems LLC for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which includes the transfer of roughly 40 Barclays employees, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.
* U.K.-based Coventry Building Society
* Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society Ltd.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* Colleen Graham, a former executive at a joint venture owned by Credit Suisse Group AG, claimed the bank had her trailed in July 2017 alleging it was in retaliation over a dispute regarding an accounting matter, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. labor court filings.
* Commerzbank AG
* German insurtech Wefox Group raised an additional $110 million in its series B funding round, increasing its total haul for 2019 to $235 million. The fundraising valued the company at more than $1 billion, an insider told Reuters.
* German bank M.M.Warburg & CO (AG & Co.) KGaA
* Rami el-Obeidi, a former head of foreign intelligence in Libya's National Transition Council who told associates that he was a shareholder in German payments firm Wirecard AG, funded surveillance activities on several investors suspected of manipulating the company's shares, insiders told the Financial Times.
* Axa Konzern AG is selling its banking subsidiary Axa Bank AG to U.S.-based IT firm DXC Technology Company, which will merge it with its own German banking unit Fondsdepot Bank GmbH.
FRANCE AND BENELUX
* Dutch banking group ING Groep NV
* Société Générale SA
* Two government investment funds and four Belgian investment bodies have formed a consortium to take a 10% stake in Euroclear SA/NV, L'Echos reported. Insurance companies Ageas SA/NV, Belfius Insurance SA, Assurances Fédérales and Ethias SA
* Allianz Benelux SA
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
* Banco Santander SA
ITALY AND GREECE
* Italian Labour Minister Nunzia Catalfo said she will meet UniCredit SpA's management later this week to discuss the Italian banking group's planned 8,000 job cuts, 5,500 of which Italian unions expect will be made in the country, Reuters reported.
* China granted Intesa Sanpaolo SpA
* Centerbridge and Apax may be interested in acquiring fund manager Arca, the sale of which is being explored by controlling shareholders BPER Banca SpA with a 57.06% stake and Banca Popolare di Sondrio SCpA
* Banca Farmafactoring SpA
* Cassa depositi e prestiti SpA, the majority shareholder of digital payment processor Sia, is working on accelerating a link-up with Nexi as it seeks to thwart a possible interest from France's Worldline SA for Sia, Il Messaggero reported.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* The Danish FSA found shortcomings in the market surveillance and securities trading functions of Danske Bank A/S, Nykredit A/S, Jyske Bank A/S and Sydbank A/S and has reprimanded the lenders for irregularities that were identified after routine inspections, Børsen reported. The regulator plans to conduct a deeper probe into Danske Bank's procedures and practices to determine "the extent of underlying problems", particularly in relation to the bank's market surveillance functions, Dagens Industri noted.
* Norwegian bank
DNB ASA
* Egil Matsen, the Norwegian central bank's deputy governor responsible for overseeing the country's sovereign wealth fund, will step down before the end of his term.
* OP Financial Group
* Iceland's central bank maintained its seven-day term deposit rate at 3% as the country's year-to-date economic developments remains in line with projections.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Several Turkish lenders are seeking to establish an asset management company that will take over their problematic loans and give them more room to provide new credit and boost the economy, insiders told Bloomberg News. The banks reportedly plan to create the new entity by the first quarter of 2020.
* Suspicious cash withdrawals in Russia fell 52% in the last nine months, Yuri Chikhanchin, head of the country's financial monitoring agency Rosfinmonitoring, told Parliament. He stressed, however, that mounting shadow cash collection schemes that are occasionally abused by large retail chains, car dealerships, wholesale and retail markets remains a concern, Reuters wrote.
* PAO Sberbank of Russia is on track to meet its net interest margin target of between 5.1% and 5.3% in 2020, Reuters reported, citing Sberbank CFO Alexander Morozov.
* PAO Promsvyazbank plans the issuance of additional shares through which it will receive 40 billion rubles from the Russian state, Kommersant wrote. Half of this sum will be paid in cash, while the remaining part will be provided in Interregional Bank for Settlements of the Telecommunications & Postal Services, or Sviaz-Bank, shares.
* The Ukrainian government submitted a bill to the country's parliament aimed at preventing the return of JSC CB Privatbank to its previous owners, new agency Prime reported.
* Polish lenders may have to set aside portfolio provisions on their Swiss franc mortgage loans, which could lower the fourth-quarter net profit of the banking sector by a fifth, Parkiet wrote.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific: Malaysia's BIMB eyes restructuring; APRA keeps bank buffers at 0%
Middle East & Africa: Israel to hold 3rd election; IMF, Ethiopia reach preliminary agreement on loan
Latin America: XP prices IPO above target range; Finvest seeks digital bank license
North America: Wells joins fee-free race; SEC OKs semi-transparent ETFs for 4 asset managers
Global Insurance: New York Life/Cigna talks; Prudential Financial caution; Axis Capital COO out
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Deza Mones, Arno Maierbrugger, Meike Wijers, Gerard O'Dwyer, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Brian McCulloch, Praxilla Trabattoni and Helen Popper contributed to this report.
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