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China sovereign fund posts FY'18 loss; NAB chief to start in December

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China sovereign fund posts FY'18 loss; NAB chief to start in December

GREATER CHINA

* Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. posted a 2.35% loss on its overseas investments in 2018 as global economic growth slows and the China-U.S. trade dispute continues, the Financial Times reported. Chairman Peng Chun said declining growth in major economies is making it difficult to find high-quality assets, and increased restrictions on foreign takeovers in the U.S. and EU are affecting the asset manager's overseas investments.

* The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission is seeking public feedback on proposed rules that cover the management of commercial banks' wealth subsidiaries. Under the draft regulation, such units should conduct pressure trials regularly and their net capital should be at least 500 million yuan and more than 40% of its net assets.

* DONGYING BANK Co. Ltd. plans to issue up to 400 million shares to raise 1.2 billion yuan via a private placement in a bid to replenish capital, hexun.com reported. According to the lender's prospectus, the subscription price is 3.01 yuan per share, and the audited net asset per share is 2.98 yuan.

JAPAN AND KOREA

* MUFG Bank Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will begin offering shared access to their ATMs, enabling customers of both lenders to use either bank's ATMs at no charge, Tokyo's The Nikkei reported. The move is part of a larger cost-cutting effort where companies plan to decommission machines in up to 700 locations to reduce maintenance fees.

* A trader at Mitsubishi Corp.'s Singapore-based unit lost about US$320 million from unauthorized trading of crude oil and petroleum products. The Japanese trading house said the former employee at Petro-Diamond Singapore (Pte) Ltd. repeatedly engaged in derivatives transactions and disguised them to look like hedge transactions since January. The losses were uncovered in August after the employee failed to return to work.

* Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank will compensate investors of derivative-linked funds who lost a major portion of their investments with up to about 50% of the losses, The Korea Times reported, citing sources and South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service. The compensation will be made after the regulator ruled that the two banks used excessive marketing strategies that violate relevant laws.

* South Korea's Lotte Non-Life Insurance Co. will form a new executive team by recruiting two new directors from major shareholder JKL Partners Inc. and replacing three existing outside directors, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

* Industrial Bank of Korea and Stonebridge Ventures have jointly established a private equity fund with 126.5 billion won with an aim to invest in facilities for small and midsize enterprises, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

ASEAN

* Thailand-based Finansia Syrus Securities PCL has begun offering wealth management services, Post Today reported. The brokerage firm is looking to increase its assets under management to 7 billion baht by the end of 2019.

* Kasikornbank PCL plans to change its procedure for setting loan-loss provisions for large corporate clients by setting relevant reserves based on the client's risk profile and expected credit loss, instead of the overall loan portfolio, in order to meet regulatory requirements under the Thai Financial Reporting Standards version 9, the Bangkok Post reported.

* Manila-based BDO Network Bank, formerly known as One Network Bank Inc. (A Rural Bank of BDO), plans to expand its footprint and increase the number of its branches to 300 by 2019-end, BusinessWorld reported, citing Jesus Antonio Itchon, president of the bank. The rural-focused unit of BDO Unibank Inc. intends to bring the total number of its offices to 480 over the next four years.

* The board of Securities Clearing Corp. of the Philippines approved the purchase of a new clearing and settlement system, according to a Sept. 19 filing. The transaction will be financed partially by issuing two million shares worth 200 million pesos from the unissued portion of its authorized capital stock. The board of the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. unit also declared an additional cash dividend of 145 million pesos payable Oct. 2 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 19.

SOUTH ASIA

* State Bank of India plans to launch a fully automated co-lending financing model with up to five nonbanking finance companies to offer loans in priority sectors, The Economic Times reported, citing an official from the state-owned lender. Under the model, the bank will bear exposure to the loans from 70% to 80%, while the rest will be borne by the NBFCs.

* Indian Overseas Bank raised 5 billion rupees in capital from an issuance of Basel lll-complaint Tier 2 bonds, the Press Trust of India reported. The bank will use the funds to meet growth and regulatory requirements.

* U.K.-based financial technology companies are looking to join India's fintech sandboxes once local regulators approve the creation of such a mechanism, Mint reported, citing Peter Estlin, the lord mayor of London's financial district. Estlin was in talks with regulators in India last week about opening up sandboxes to international players.

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

* The Federal Court of Australia dismissed allegations brought about by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority against IOOF Holdings Ltd. and some of its entities and executives in relation to how they managed superannuation funds. APRA sought to disqualify top executives at the asset manager for failing to address conflicts of interests and failing to act on its members' best interest.

* IOOF's legal win in the APRA case is unlikely to close the company's takeover offer for Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.'s pension and investments business, analysts told The Australian Financial Review. Daniel Toohey, a Morgan Stanley analyst, said ANZ could still walk away from the deal prior to its Oct. 17 deadline "under current terms."

* Ross McEwan, outgoing CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, will begin his new duty as group CEO and managing director of National Australia Bank Ltd. on Dec. 2. Ross was appointed to the role in July.

R Sio, Shahrukh Madni, Sally Wang, Sarun Saelee, Cathy Hwang, Emi White and Aditya Suharmoko contributed to this report.