* Top executives from European banks including Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, ING Groep NV and Banco Santander SA warned that the entrance into banking by the world's biggest technology groups could threaten financial stability, and called for internet giants such as Facebook and Amazon in the U.S. and Alibaba and Tencent in China, to be subjected to some of the same regulations as big banks, the Financial Times reported.
UK AND IRELAND
* Lloyds Banking Group Plc is banning its credit card customers from purchasing bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies amid fears they could run up heavy losses, The Telegraph reported. Lloyds customers will still be able to buy cryptocurrencies using debit cards.
* Allied Irish Banks Plc is said to be among firms interested in acquiring the Irish unit of South Africa-based financial services group Investec Ltd., The Irish Times reported. AIB is in early talks with Investec for a potential deal; however, the latter is yet to make a final decision on whether to proceed with a sale.
* Currencies Direct Ltd., the foreign exchange and international payments services provider chaired by former Barclays Plc CEO Antony Jenkins, is weighing plans to list later this year, insiders told Sky News. The company will likely seek a London IPO but could still decide to pursue a private sale, the sources said.
* Co-operative Bank Plc appointed Bob Dench as its new chairman, effective March 14. Dench will join Co-op Bank from Paragon Banking Group Plc
* British debt collector Cabot Credit Management Group Ltd., which abandoned a planned London listing last year, is expected to restart its IPO plan after the publication of its full-year 2017 results in mid-March, insiders told Reuters. The company cited unfavorable equity market conditions in the U.K. when it cancelled its IPO in November.
* Barbican Insurance Group said it launched a new underwriting operation in Bermuda called Barbican Bermuda, which will focus on the U.S. property market and will write exclusively on behalf of Lloyd's Syndicate - 1955 (Barbican Managing Agency Ltd.)
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* A court in Cologne canceled the expected Feb. 7 verdict in a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank AG, which alleges it acted illegally in concert with another party during its takeover of Deutsche Postbank AG, and instead will reopen the hearing on June 29, Handelsblatt reported. One of the plaintiffs, publishing and financial investment company Effecten-Spiegel AG, has requested that former Deutsche Bank CFO Stefan Krause be heard as a witness.
* Meanwhile, plaintiffs in the Deutsche Bank lawsuit have also filed criminal complaints against former and current board members of the bank, including CEO John Cryan and former CEO Josef Ackermann as well as top officials at regulator Bafin, in connection with the Deutsche Postbank takeover, Der Spiegel reported.
* As the bank reported its third consecutive annual loss, Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan said he could not promise investors a full dividend for 2017, but defended plans to pay staff bonuses.
* Allianz Group has agreed to acquire 100% of Sri Lankan company Janashakthi General Insurance Ltd. for about €85.9 million. The acquisition makes Allianz Insurance Lanka one of the country's largest general insurers, with a market share of about 20%.
* GRENKE AG Chairman and founder Wolfgang Grenke will step down from the company's board of directors, effective Feb. 28. Grenke, who also founded the firm, will be succeeded by Antje Leminsky, effective March 1.
FRANCE AND BENELUX
* Société Générale SA could report a loss of €237 million for the fourth quarter, according to l'Agefi, which cited an analyst consensus published by the bank itself.
* Dutch insurer Achmea BV is set to buy back €100 million of its own shares, Het Financieele Dagblad reported. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of March.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
* CaixaBank SA CEO Gonzalo Gortázar said the bank plans to sell €2.3 billion in real estate assets in 2018, up from €1.6 billion in 2017, as it continues to sell off legacy loans from the financial crisis.
* Portugal's Caixa Geral de Depósitos SA posted a net profit of €51.9 million in 2017, reversing the previous year's €1.86 billion loss as the state-run bank's international operations boosted the overall result, Jornal de Negócios reported.
ITALY AND GREECE
* The ECB gave Mediobanca - Banca di Credito Finanziario SpA permission to implement its own internal risk management systems to measure capital requirements for corporate credit risk, effective March 31. The regulator also expressed approval for the gradual implementation of so-called advanced internal ratings-based models in business segments other than corporate
* Commerzbank AG will take part in the consortium underwriting Credito Valtellinese SpA's capital hike, along with Barclays, Credit Suisse and Citi, which will be co-global coordinators and joint book runners, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
* A group of hedge funds have stepped up bets against a string of Italian banks, with U.S. fund Bridgewater Associates taking the lead with the largest number of short positions, including against Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, UniCredit SpA and FinecoBank Banca Fineco SpA, among others, Reuters reported.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Alm. Brand Bank A/S will acquire the majority of Saxo Privatbank A/S' activities for 360 million Danish kroner. The deal will increase Alm. Brand Bank's business volume by approximately 50%.
* Länsförsäkringar AB (publ) has dismissed CEO Johan Agerman, with immediate effect. The board of the Swedish banking-insurance group said there were "irreconcilable differences" over business direction and development, wrote Sydsvenskan.
* Topdanmark A/S appointed Peter Hermann its new CEO, replacing Christian Sagild, who stepped down at the start of the year. Hermann has been CEO of Topdanmark Livsforsikring AS since 2016.
* Nordea Bank AB (publ) has applied for the admission of wholly-owned subsidiary Nordea Finland's shares to trading on Nasdaq Helsinki, Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Copenhagen. The move is part of preparations for the planned re-domiciliation of Nordea Bank to Finland.
EASTERN EUROPE
* The Russian central bank decided to merge Otkritie Financial Corp. Bank and B&N Bank, bailed out by the regulator in the second half of 2017, RBK Daily reported, adding that the merger could take place in 2018. Otkritie Bank's head, Mikhail Zadornov, said the merger will reduce the costs of the banks' financial recovery and will speed up the process of preparing the merged lender for sale to investors, Vedomosti said.
*
* Bank Millennium SA will strive to pay a dividend from its 2018 profit, after the portion of its Swiss franc-denominated mortgage portfolio within its overall loan book decreased, news agency PAP reported, citing CEO Joao Bras Jorge. The executive noted, however, that the bank will not pay a dividend on its 2017 profit.
* Tatiana Ushkova will become management board chair at Absolut Bank (PAO), replacing Andrey Degtyarev, Kommersant reported. The management board changes are associated with a new, more retail sector-oriented model to be implemented at the lender.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: CI Ratings downgrades Oman; South Africa fines Chinese bank branch
Latin America: BBVA Bancomer, Banco de Chile, Cielo post higher Q4 profits
North America: Wells clients withdraw from funds biz; Morgan Stanley sued for racial bias
North America Insurance: CMS seeks Medicare Advantage payment hikes; '17 insured cat losses may top $140B
NOW FEATURED ON S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Danske Bank CFO expects mortgage growth despite Nordic housing market slump: House prices may have dropped in the Nordics, but Danske Bank CFO Jacob Aarup-Andersen is confident that the bank will still be able to grow its mortgage portfolio across the region in 2018.
Study projects over 1,000 bank closures in Germany as 3-pillar model crumbles: The number of German banks could plummet to as few as 150 by 2030 from 1,600 now, global consultancy Oliver Wyman says in a new study, questioning the country's established three-pillar banking system.
Spanish bank Sabadell aims to double key profitability ratio by 2020: Banco de Sabadell is aiming to almost double a key profitability ratio by 2020 as it targets growth at its Spain and U.K. businesses and reduces its exposure to nonperforming assets, according to Chairman Josep Oliu.
Danske Bank continues internal probe into Estonian money-laundering claim: Although Danske Bank is no longer under investigation by French authorities for allegations of money laundering at its Estonian unit, the lender is continuing with an internal investigation to make sure lessons have been learned, its CEO said.
Ben Meggeson, Ed Meza, Meike Wijers, Gerard O'Dwyer, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Stephanie Salti, Praxilla Trabattoni and Helen Popper contributed to this report.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription.
