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Chinese regulator fines 12 banks; Westpac eyes IPO of auto loans biz

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Chinese regulator fines 12 banks; Westpac eyes IPO of auto loans biz

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of banking news stories and more published throughout the week. Please note that some entries may have links to third-party sources that may require a subscription.

Lawsuits, fines and more

* The China Banking Regulatory Commission said 12 Chinese banks were fined a combined 295.44 million yuan for illegally trading bank bills.

* South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service filed criminal complaints against KEB Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Daegu Bank Ltd., BNK Busan Bank Co. Ltd. and Kwangju Bank Ltd. in connection with hiring irregularities.

* Australia's corporate regulator commenced legal proceedings against Commonwealth Bank of Australia for allegedly rigging the benchmark interest rate.

* Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. CEO Shayne Elliott said the lender's initial submission to a royal commission investigating the country's four largest banks for misconduct reflects "significant failures" at ANZ over the last decade.

* Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission fined Citibank Taiwan Ltd. NT$6 million due to misconduct by one of its employees, and NT$2.5 million due to a glitch in its credit card billing system.

* The Chinese banking regulator's Shanghai bureau asked banks in the city to rein in loans for deals where the underlying asset is land, amid a nationwide effort to control financial risks.

* The Philippine central bank plans to introduce a countercyclical capital buffer for banks in the country.

Japanese banks' earnings results

* Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. reported a 19% year-over-year increase in net profit for the nine months ended Dec. 31, 2017.

* Mizuho Financial Group Inc. reported a 5.7% year-over-year decline in net income for the nine-month period, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. reported a year-over-year increase in net profit for the same period.

* Resona Holdings Inc.'s net income for the period increased to ¥202.76 billion from ¥129.81 billion in the prior-year period. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reported a decline in net income to ¥122.81 billion from ¥130.16 billion in the year-ago period.

M&A developments

* New York-based Blackstone Group LP has reportedly joined the roster of potential buyers for ANZ unit UDC Finance Ltd.

* Indonesian banking giant PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk has shelved acquisition plans in the Philippines and made expansion in Malaysia a lower priority.

* Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. proposed to merge its Indonesian unit PT Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Indonesia with local lender PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk.

* Land Bank of the Philippines is carrying out due diligence on Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp., or PDS Holdings, as it looks to buy a majority stake in the company.

* Jordan-based Arab Bank Plc is reportedly selling its Australian unit Arab Bank Australia Ltd. with an auction for potential buyers now in the second stage. The potential buyers include Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd., Bank of Queensland Ltd., Suncorp Group Ltd., and smaller lending institutions.

* The Pakistani government invited two financial institutions to conduct due diligence on state-owned SME Bank Ltd., as the country's Privatization Commission plans to complete the privatization of the bank in the current fiscal year.

In other news

* Westpac Banking Corp. is reportedly eyeing a possible IPO of its auto loans business in November that could value the division at A$4.9 billion.

* The New York State Department of Financial Services asked six South Korean banks and their New York branches to provide information on cryptocurrency transactions, as well as the findings of South Korean regulators' onsite inspections of the banks.

* Hong Kong banks saw a surge in suspicious ATM withdrawals as more than HK$20 billion was withdrawn from the city's banks in a month

* U.S. investment bank Jefferies LLC and BOC International Holdings Ltd. entered into an alliance to provide investment banking and capital markets services to clients globally.

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