GREATER CHINA
* China's Ministry of Finance plans to offload 10% of its stake in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. to the National Council for Social Security Fund, the state-owned lender said in a bourse filing. The finance ministry currently holds 34.60% of the bank's outstanding ordinary shares. Following the completion of the transfer, the sovereign wealth fund will have acquired 3.46% of the outstanding ordinary shares in the bank.
* The People's Bank of China injected 20 billion into the market yuan via 14-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2.7%, unchanged from previous operations.
* The nonperforming loan ratio of Guiyang Rural Commercial Bank Co. Ltd. declined to 2.46% at the end of June from 19.54% at the end of 2017, China Times reported. The bank's outstanding nonperforming loans dropped to 1.29 billion yuan from 7.84 billion yuan during the same period. The sharp decline is partially attributed to the sale of some nonperforming loans to two local asset management companies in 2019.
* Yuanta Financial Holdings Co. Ltd. said it plans to issue new common shares of subsidiary Yuanta Life Insurance Co. Ltd. to raise NT$14 billion in a bid to boost the latter's financial strength, the Taipei Times reported. The move followed capital injections of NT$4 billion in 2017 and NT$1 billion in 2018 for the life insurer.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Japan Exchange Group Inc., which operates bourses in Tokyo and Osaka, completed its tender offering and will hold a 97% stake in Tokyo Commodity Exchange Inc. as it plans to merge Oct. 1, Kyodo News reported. The company will acquire the remaining 3% stake in November to make the commodity exchange a wholly owned subsidiary with a total purchase price of ¥5.5 billion.
* South Korea's Woori Bank said in a statement that 8.6 billion won worth of its controversial derivative-linked fund products, which would have matured Sept. 26, ended in a 100% loss of the principal amount, The Chosun Ilbo reported.
* Industrial Bank of Korea said it has launched the IBK 1st Lab, a "test bed" for the development of financial technology-related projects, Yonhap News Agency reported. Up to 16 companies have agreed to take part in the initiative, the publication noted.
ASEAN
* The Bank of Thailand held its key interest rate unchanged and downgraded its growth forecasts due to a slowdown in exports against a backdrop of trade tensions. In a unanimous decision, the Monetary Policy Committee left the policy rate at 1.50% on Sept. 25, following a surprise cut in August.
* The board of the Bank of Thailand approved reshuffling the roles of eight assistant governors, effective Oct. 1, Krungthep Turakij reported, citing a statement from the central bank.
* Islamic Bank of Thailand said it is actively searching for external candidates for senior executive vice president and executive vice president positions. The bank added that it would receive applications for the roles until Oct. 25.
* Indonesian private lender PT Bank JTrust Indonesia Tbk sold 9.5% of its shares in subsidiary J Trust Asia Pte Ltd., Bisnis Indonesia reported. The publication also said in a separate report that Bank JTrust Indonesia saw its first-half capital drop 31% year over year and suffered a net loss of 94.3 billion rupiah due to bad loans and a decline in interest income.
* Singapore's DBS Bank Ltd. said it plans to add more features to its PayLah! e-wallet, in a bid to expand its user base to 3.5 million users from the 1.6 million it currently has, The Business Times reported. The lender also plans to integrate its debit and credit card payment options and rewards app with the mobile wallet and has signed partnerships with more than 10 merchants to offer peer-to-business services to its users.
* Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Yunus said financial institutions will face new regulatory requirements once the central bank, the Securities Commission Malaysia and the World Bank Group reach a decision regarding classifications on green assets, The Business Times reported. She added that such institutions will be required to report on climate risks, which could also be used to set regulatory requirements.
SOUTH ASIA
* Indian Bank said it would peg all new floating rate loans in the retail and micro, small and midsize enterprise categories on the Reserve Bank of India's repo rate from Oct. 1, the Press Trust of India reported. Meanwhile, State Bank of India said it would charge a 265-basis-point spread over the repo rate on new home loans issued, effective Oct. 1, Business Standard reported.
* India's Chaitanya Rural Intermediation and Development Services Pvt. Ltd. received a 7.39-billion-rupee investment from Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, the Press Trust of India reported. Bansal will take over the CEO position at the nonbanking financial company.
* The Reserve Bank of India has refuted speculation that it is planning to permanently shutter nine banks, the Press Trust of India reported. The rumors, which called for the public to withdraw money from their accounts at the banks, come after the central bank placed operational restrictions on Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Ltd.
* Bank loans in India fell by more than 900 billion rupees between April and August, the second such contraction in three years, The Economic Times reported, citing data from the Indian central bank. On a yearly basis, overall bank loans in the country decreased to 9 trillion rupees from 10.4 trillion rupees in the previous year. The report pointed to the introduction of bankruptcy laws and low demand as factors in the decline.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Climate activist group Market Forces plans to persuade shareholders of major Australian financial companies such as Westpac Banking Corp., Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and National Australia Bank Ltd. to drop their exposure to the oil, gas and coal industries, after successful talks with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and QBE Insurance Group Ltd., The Australian Financial Review reported. The group plans to use a rule that allows 100 shareholders to propose motions to the board. CBA had pledged to cease lending to thermal coal mining by 2030, while Suncorp Group Ltd. said it would end its exposure to the industry by 2025.
* Australia Treasurer Josh Frydenberg warned banks and regulators against overly strict lending rules that could "negatively impact consumer behavior," The Australian Financial Review reported. In a speech to be delivered to the publication's property summit, Frydenberg called for "personal responsibility and personal accountability" to remain central to bank lending. His view backs that of Prime Minister Scott Morrison who earlier warned against tight lending standards.
* National Australia Bank is planning to ramp up its business banking division with the hire of 163 more bankers, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing Anthony Healy, the bank's chief customer officer. Healy said this is NAB's biggest investment in business bankers in a decade and comes as it aims to increase its market share in small and midsize enterprise banking.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: Bank of Israel to grant license to 1st new bank in 40 years; Morocco holds rate
Europe: UK court loss; Santander sees €1.5B charge; HSBC fine junked
Latin America: Argentina partly eases currency controls; Brazil central bank sees higher Q3 GDP
North America: Facebook delays Libra; CU deal called off; House may OK cannabis banking bill
Global Insurance: Nationwide E&S goal; 5th Atlantic hurricane; Blue Cross/Cambia merger on hold
R Sio, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.
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