Editor's note: The Daily Dose Europe will not be published March 30 and April 2 on account of the Easter holidays in Europe. The Daily Dose will return April 3.
* British financial institutions lowered the estimate of the number of jobs expected to move outside the U.K., or to be created abroad, by March 2019 due to Brexit to 5,000 roles, according to a survey by Reuters of 119 firms. The newswire's previous survey in September 2017 showed that companies were expecting to relocate 10,000 jobs.
* Meanwhile, financial services firms from the EU should plan on continuing to operate as normal during the Brexit transition period following the U.K.'s official departure from the bloc, the Bank of England has said. EU firms can "plan on the assumption" that they will only need U.K. authorization or recognition at the end of the Brexit implementation period, which runs until the end of 2020, according to the BoE.
* The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority eased a key restriction it was planning to impose on insurers wanting to set up branches in the U.K. post-Brexit. The regulator raised the threshold for companies to £500 million from £200 million of liabilities that would fall under the protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, or FSCS, making it easier for firms to meet the requirement to set up a branch rather than a full-blown subsidiary.
* The European Commission proposed to make cross-border payments in euro cheaper across the entire EU and to bring more transparency in currency-conversion services when consumers purchase goods or services in a different currency than their own.
UK AND IRELAND
* The U.K. Treasury Committee launched an inquiry into the scale of money laundering and terrorist financing in the country, with the British property market in particular becoming a "destination of choice for laundering the proceeds of overseas crime and corruption."
* UK Finance, the British financial services lobby group, has commissioned an independent review into how complaints and disputes by companies that have allegedly been wronged by banks can be resolved in a timely and cost-effective manner, The Daily Telegraph reported.
* About 75% of 230 asset managers have failed to support an initiative by the U.K.'s Local Government Pension Scheme requiring greater transparency in the way fees for equity products and British public pension funds are charged, the Financial Times wrote.
* U.K. Financial Conduct Authority CEO Andrew Bailey said the regulator is undertaking a review to establish whether it needs to formally investigate Aviva PLC over the company's controversial proposal to cancel preference shares.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* Deutsche Bank AG is conducting a review of its investment banking operations in light of its poor performance in recent years, Bloomberg News reported. The review, pursued by CEO John Cryan in an effort to help restore profitability amid reports that the bank is seeking to replace him, is examining businesses to determine if Deutsche Bank should try to win back market share or exit them. It is also considering cuts at the investment bank, with operations in the U.S. a particular focus.
* Meanwhile, in a message to staff, Cryan acknowledged that Deutsche Bank is currently again "the subject of rumors," but said the bank was making progress in many areas.
* Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. is close to buying a 25% stake in Swiss Re AG worth about $9.6 billion, at a share price of between CHF100 and CHF105, Bloomberg News wrote.
* Wüstenrot & Württembergische AG reported a full-year 2017 IFRS consolidated net profit of €258.0 million, up 9.6% from €235.3 million a year earlier.
* Austria's Oberbank AG is expanding by opening new branches in the German states of Saxony and Baden-Württemberg, Handelsblatt reported.
FRANCE AND BENELUX
* CME Group Inc. submitted a nonbinding proposal for a potential acquisition of NEX Group PLC at a price of £10 per share. Discussions are at an advanced stage, however, there is no certainty that an offer will be made, according to NEX.
* A Dutch court has ruled that Rabobank abused its power in its relationship with construction company Midreth, which went bankrupt in 2011, Het Financieele Dagblad reported. The company is expected to sue the bank for compensation.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
* Portugal's Novo Banco SA requested a capital injection of €791.7 million from the EU Settlement Fund after posting a full-year net loss of €1.40 billion in 2017, up 77% year over year, mainly due to provisions to cover future losses, Expansión reported. Economia Online also had a report.
ITALY AND GREECE
* National Bank of Greece SA reported a fourth-quarter 2017 loss of €265 million, compared to a loss of €35 million in the previous quarter. For full-year 2017, the bank reported a loss of €443 million, down from €2.89 billion in 2016.
* Piraeus Bank SA reported a full-year 2017 net profit attributable to shareholders from continuing operations of €2 million, down from €37 million in the previous year
* Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA will inject €250 million in its MPS Leasing & Factory business, according to MF.
* The Bank of Italy is pushing Banca del Fucino SpA to find a partner to help it boost its capital position, Il Messaggero said, noting that Banco di Desio e della Brianza SpA and Banca Sella SpA have both expressed interest in an investment should the current shareholders do their part, while J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC is among the companies that have presented nonbinding offers.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Nordea Bank AB (publ) has lost mortgage-loan customers to rival lenders in Sweden since September 2017 — an unprecedented development that is at least in part attributable to the bank's decision to relocate its headquarters to Finland, Dagens Industri reported.
EASTERN EUROPE
* The shareholders of Polish debt collector GetBack SA approved the issuance of up to 19,999,999 new shares, but postponed their meeting until April 6 before voting on the second issuance of up to 50 million shares also planned by the company, news agency PAP reported.
* Poland-based debt collector KRUK Spólka Akcyjna agreed to purchase a 51% stake in an Italian debt-collecting company and could increase its holding further to 100% within the next few months, PAP wrote.
* The acquisition of Raiffeisen Bank International AG's Polish unit Raiffeisen Bank Polska SA by Bank BGZ BNP Paribas SA could be announced at the beginning of April, if the parties manage to agree on the price, according to Rzeczpospolita.
* Slovenian lender Banka Sparkasse d.d. finalized the purchase of Aleasing financiranje svetovanje trženje d.o.o. from Abanka d.d., SEENews reported. Following the purchase, Aleasing will be merged with Sparkasse Group's unit Sparkasse Leasing S.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific: SoftBank creating 200-GW solar project in Saudi Arabia; NXP sells China JV stake
Middle East & Africa: Sanlam raises $490M in new share sale; Morocco's BMCE eyes Shanghai branch
Latin America: Caixa Q4'17 profit spikes; BNDES president to resign this week
North America: Chicago may pursue Wells Fargo over predatory lending; Wedbush faces SEC charges
North America Insurance: Iowa Senate OKs association health plans; Oscar valued at $3.2B in new funding
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BoE: EU finance firms should plan to operate as normal during Brexit transition: Financial services firms from the European Union should plan on continuing to operate as normal during the Brexit transition period following the U.K.'s official departure from the bloc, the Bank of England has said.
David Hutter, Ed Meza, Danielle Rossingh, Gerard O'Dwyer, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Stephanie Salti, Praxilla Trabattoni and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.
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