Category: Finance

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  • ICICI Bank asks customers not to use foreign payments for digital assets

    ICICI Bank asks customers not to use foreign payments for digital assets

    The buzz around the new crypto regulatory framework has been ongoing in India for some time now. While the Parliament is unlikely to discuss the bill this month, one of the largest private lenders in India, ICICI Bank recently issued a statement asking its customers to not use foreign payment solutions to invest in digital assets.

    This marks another step of the bank in its crackdown towards crypto trading. The updated remittance application of the bank includes a new declaration that remittance should not be used by customers to invest in virtual assets or purchase them.

    Due to the recent developments, those who want to transfer funds out of the country now need to sign the declaration. The new declaration presented to Indians now also prevents residents from using the money that came from crypto investments for sending overseas.

    Recently, the central bank of the country announced that the lenders were not able to deny services to crypto exchanges and traders according to the crypto trading ban, which was enacted in April 2018. However, many of the lenders in the country have suspended net banking services for those using cryptocurrency transactions.

    Indian crypto trading laws

    The regulatory uncertainty of the crypto trading market has been discussed for some time in India. However, uncertainty is expected to continue for some time in the future as well. It was reported recently that the much anticipated crypto trading bill in the country is not likely to be discussed by the Parliament in its coming session starting the following week.

    The crypto bill is not listed as one of the topics that could be up for discussion during the Parliament “Monsoon” session. The main reason for this is that the government of the country still has not found a way to approach the digital currency market.

    At the beginning of July, the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman talked about the crypto market in the country, indicating that the authorities still needed to approve the bill before it could be taken forward to the Parliament.

    There might be several reasons behind the cabinet’s not-yet-facilitated approval. The first reason is that the cabinet simply did not have enough time to review the bill, while the second reason might be the fact that the bill was sent back to the Ministry of Finance for revision.

    Some experts in the local crypto trading market claim that the government of the country and the Reserve Bank might have different views on how to approach the crypto and crypto trading market. A few months back, it was reported that the government was thinking of creating a new panel to study crypto regulations and the possibilities that the country had.

    Some of the government members believe that the views of the former Finance Secretary were outdated and the market needs a new look and view that might be used to regulate the market rather than ban it.

    Importance of regulations

    Interest in the crypto trading market among Indian investors has been increasing for some time now. The younger tech-savvy generation of the country is very interested in the crypto trading market, and the development of a well-thought-out regulatory framework is very important for the country.

    However, the authorities tend to be avoiding further discussions of crypto trading on a legal level. Whatever the reason is, this is affecting the local market a lot. A well-developed crypto regulation tailored to the protection of Indian traders is what the country needs right now.

    While the crypto trading market is becoming more and more popular around the world, many of the local investors are staying left out of the developments around the world.

    Trading bots & increasing popularity

    There are numerous opportunities that the crypto trading market offers to investors, experienced and beginner traders alike. The rise of crypto trading bots has made the market even more accessible around the world.

    Tools like Bitsgap trading bot and similar are a profitable opportunity for traders globally to invest in the market and generate higher profits. The crypto trading bot created by Bitsgap is known for its high level of security and safety.

    Bitsgap trading bot offers traders the ability to make crypto trading a lot easier. With this trading bot, investors can analyze the ongoing events in the market in a matter of minutes, making trading cryptocurrencies a lot easier. But there is much more that this trading bot has to offer. Bitsgap is also capable of opening and closing positions on its own, without the intervention of traders. This makes it a very comfortable trading bot to use.

     

    It uses very high standards of safety and security when it comes to investing in the crypto trading market. This includes two-factor verification and complex password support. The company also works very hard to ensure the privacy of traders.

     

    Traders are the ones who get to decide all the settings for their API keys, which ensures using the Bitsgap platform to its full potential. In addition, the API keys are always hidden in an encrypted format.

    As the market continues to grow around the world to new heights, Indian authorities are still having a hard time finding a way to regulate the market. Although the recent steps taken by the government seemed to be positive, it is still very hard to say what the authorities are aiming to do.

     

  • DBS Reports Progress on Digital Exchange

    DBS Reports Progress on Digital Exchange

    The Singapore bank, one of the first traditional lenders in the region to launch its own digital exchange, now has S$100 million in digital assets in custody.

    I’m quite pleased, it is going quite well,» chief executive Piyush Gupta said on Tuesday during a briefing with analysts after presenting the bank’s second-quarter 2021 financial results, Blockworks reported.

    The exchange – DDEx – now has around 400 clients and did around $133 million in transactions during the quarter, Gupta said. Its assets under custody are also up 60 percent since May, when it had an investor base of 120 clients and some S$80 million in digital assets under custody.

    At the same time, Gupta said his target was to grow the digital exchange’s investor base to about 1,000 customers this year, adding that he expects the volume to pick up once the exchange extends its trading hours past the Singapore business day.

    DDEx launched in December 2020 with an initial offering that covered cryptocurrency trading of bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash and XRP, now expanded to include digital stocks and bonds. In May 2021, the bank launched a crypto trust offering that combined wealth planning services with emerging digital currencies.

    Overall, the bank posted a record-high profit of S$3.71 billion ($2.75 billion) for the first half of 2021, marking 54 percent year-on-year growth.

  • SFC Fines UBS Over Regulatory Breaches

    SFC Fines UBS Over Regulatory Breaches

    Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission reprimanded and fined UBS over regulatory breaches covering various areas including transparency client suitability.

    The SFC fined UBS AG and UBS Securities Asia Limited HK$9.8 million ($1.26 million) and $1.75 million, respectively, over various regulatory breaches, according to a statement.

    The issues covered areas ranging from lacking disclosures to client suitability issues.

    The SFC’s probe found that UBS failed to make proper disclosure of its financial interest in some Hong Kong-listed companies covers in its research reports for 14 years, between May 2004 and May 2018.

    The failure was caused by multiple data feed logic errors in a legacy data source used by UBS for tracking its shareholding positions, the securities regulator said.

    The SFC also found that UBS failed to fulfill various processes across client suitability and sales.

    It said the Swiss bank, in various time periods, failed to obtain valid standing authorities from clients who were not qualified as professional investors; record client order instructions; fully assess client derivatives knowledge; and disclose the stop loss event feature in a structured note.

    The SFC considers that UBS failed to act with due skill and care and put in place adequate systems and controls to ensure compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements,» the regulator said in the statement.

  • HSBC Boosts First-Year Banker Pay

    HSBC Boosts First-Year Banker Pay

    HSBC is reportedly the latest global bank to join the Wall Street trend of increasing salaries for junior executives.

    Salaries of first-year analysts at HSBC’s investment bank will increase from $85,00 to $100,000, according to a report citing unnamed sources.

    The bank introduced pay rises for existing analysts and associates in May.

    London-headquartered HSBC joins a number of global financial institutions increasing wages to compete for investment banking talent including UBS, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank.

  • SGX Profits Fall on Higher Expenses

    SGX Profits Fall on Higher Expenses

    The bourse attributed its weaker performance to higher expenses increased and declining treasury income amid a low-interest rate environment.

    Singapore Exchange’s fiscal full-year net profit fell 6 percent year-on-year to S$445.4 million ($329.5 million), despite operating revenue growing by 0.3 percent to S$1.06 billion, according to financial statements released on Thursday.

    Operating revenue fell 6.8 percent year-on-year for the six months ending 30 June 2021 to S$535.1 million, with the decline coming from its equities segment, SGX said. Its net profit for this period totalled S$205.6 million, down 20.5 percent from S$258.6 million the previous year.

    FICC revenue, comprising Fixed Income as well as Currencies and Commodities – Derivatives revenues, increased 24 percent to S$211.8 million, or 20 percent of total revenue. Equities revenue, comprising Equities – Cash as well as Equities – Derivatives revenues, declined 8 percent to S$701.1 million, or 66 percent of total revenue.

    Data, Connectivity and Indices revenue increased 18 percent to S$143.1 million, or for 14 percent of total revenue.

    Scientific Beta and BidFX contributed 7 percent to the group’s total revenues in FY2021. Along with recently acquired FX trading platform MaxxTrader, total revenue contribution from SGX’s recently acquired subsidiaries would exceed 9 percent, SGX said.

    While the low-interest rate environment will continue to impact our treasury income, we believe it will also spur demand for our multi-asset offerings as investors seek enhanced returns, CEO Loh Boon Chye said.

    The Board of Directors proposed a final quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share, payable on 22 October 2021, which would bring total dividends in FY2021 to 32 cents per share, up from 30.5 cents in FY2020.

  • DBS Registers Record First-Half Profits

    DBS Registers Record First-Half Profits

    DBS maintained profit momentum in the second quarter, resulting in all-time high performance for the first half.

    DBS registered a record-high profit of S$3.71 billion ($2.75 billion), according to the latest results, marking 54 percent year-on-year growth.

    Total income slipped slightly by 4 percent to S$7.44 billion and expenses inched 3 percent higher to S$3.13 billion but allowances for credit and other losses fell by 95 percent to S$89 million.

    The bank also declared a dividend of S$0.33 per share for the second quarter, bringing the first-half dividend to S$0.51 per share.

    DBS’ strong performance in the first half was also driven by all-time high figures across the board including fee income (20 percent increase to S$1.82 billion), fixed income fees and trading income.

    The second quarter alone was also a strong showing with S$868 million in fee income – the second-highest on record behind the last quarter – resulting in a net profit of S$1.7 billion, a 37 percent increase.

    «We achieved an exceptional first half with the first and second quarters the two highest on record,» said DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta. «Business momentum and asset quality have both been better than expected as the economic recovery from the pandemic takes hold. While risks remain, our pipeline remains healthy and we expect business momentum to be sustained in the coming quarters.»

  • UOB Rides Economic Recovery

    UOB Rides Economic Recovery

    The bank posted a record quarterly wholesale banking income of $848 million, and a record AUM in wealth management in the first half of 2021.

    UOB posted second-quarter earnings of S$1 billion ($740 million), unchanged from the first quarter, which brought first-half earnings of S$2 billion, according to financial statements released on Wednesday.

    Net profit was 29 percent higher in the first half of the year compared to 2020, driven by strong business momentum and lower credit allowance, and 48 percent higher than the second half of 2020, supported by the group’s strong customer franchise and lower credit allowance, UOB said.

    Core Business Growth

    The bank noted healthy contributions across its core businesses, with income growing 5 percent to S$4.9 billion, fee income growing 28 percent to S$1.2 billion, and loans growing 6 percent to S$299 billion.

    Cross-border income, which contributed to 29 percent of wholesale banking income, grew by 5 percent, while a recovery in market sentiment saw assets under management growing by 7 percent to S$137 billion, UOB said.

    Total expenses remained stable at S$2.15 billion and cost-to-income ratio for the year improved from 45.6 percent to 43.8 percent. The bank also reduced its allowances to S$383 million, from S$682 million a year ago, noting that asset quality remains within expectations, with strong reserve coverage from the proactive general allowance taken in last year. Total credit costs on loans eased to 24 basis points.

    In a media briefing on Wednesday morning, UOB deputy chairman and CEO Wee Ee Cheong said the bank is positive about its outlook and expects profits to continue to rebound, backed by strong single-digit growth in loans and double-digit growth in non-interest income. It also expects growth in Asean markets to improve as vaccination rates increase, which will further boost its performance.

    The past quarter, the bank launched products like digital wealth manger SimpleInvest, which Wee said has received an «overwhelmingly positive response.» It is also working on distributed ledger and asset tokenization initiatives like digital bond issuance on Marketnode, and collaborating on central bank digital currencies.

    The bank also expressed an interest in potentially acquiring Citi’s retail assets in the Asia Pacific region, to strengthen its regional franchise.

    With the lifting of MAS restrictions, UOB is resuming its dividend payout ratio of 50 percent, which translates to 60 cents per ordinary share.

  • OCBC Profits Surge from Reduced Allowance

    OCBC Profits Surge from Reduced Allowance

    OCBC’s net profit for the second quarter surged due to an economic recovery that enabled substantially reduced allowances.

    OCBC’s posted a net profit of S$1.16 billion ($860 million) in the second quarter, according to its latest results, marking a 59 percent surge from S$730 million in the same period last year.

    The bank’s quarterly performance was in line with the S$1.14 billion consensus forecast from a Bloomberg survey of five analysts.

    OCBC registered S$2.66 billion of net profit in the first half, up 86 percent year-on-year.

    Like many other peers in the banking industry, OCBC has benefitted from an economic recovery that has enabled a reduction of reserves linked to bad assets.

    It posted S$393 million in total allowances compared to S$1.41 billion last year.

    The reduction was driven in no small part by lower allowances for impaired assets (from S$793 million to S$283 million) driven last year largely by exposures to «a number of corporate customers in the oil trading and offshore support vessels sectors».

    In addition to reduced allowances, the bank also benefitted from strong wealth management income which grew 25 percent in the first half to S$2.14 billion which represents 39 perfect of OCBC Group’s total income.

    OCBC’s private banking arm, Bank of Singapore, saw assets under management grow 11 percent to S$169 billion, driven by continued net new money inflows and positive market valuations.

    OCBC also declared a dividend of 25 Singapore cents per share compared to 15.9 Singapore cents a year ago.

    At a ratio of 42 percent, this marks the first dividend payout since the Monetary Authority of Singapore lifted its cap on locally incorporated banks and financial firms in the city-state, originally set at 50 percent of 2019’s dividends per share.

    While the long-term trajectory of global economic recovery is positive, we remain watchful on the current operating environment in view of the recent virus resurgence and heightened safety measures in our key markets,» said OCBC group chief executive Helen Wong. We stay firmly committed to supporting our customers during this difficult period.

  • HSBC Names Head of Qatar Private Banking

    HSBC Names Head of Qatar Private Banking

    The bank has named a long-standing stalwart to enhance HSBC’s client proposition in Qatar.

    HSBC has named Ibrahim Al Abed as its head of private banking in Qatar, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

    Based in Qatar, Al Abed reports to Sobhi Tabbara, global market head, Middle East and North Africa, Private Banking, and Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, CEO of HSBC Qatar.

    Al Abed joined the HSBC’s Qatar office in 1999 and has worked across Digital Business Services and Global Operations before moving to Wealth & Personal Banking, after which he joined Markets & Securities Services in 2004 to become the head of corporate sales.

    In the announcement, Tabbara said Qatar is a «very important market for Private Banking in MENAT.»

    HSBC’s history spans 67 years in the Gulf nation, where it offers a full suite of banking products and services, including wealth management and personal banking, commercial banking, global banking and markets, and security services.

  • Deutsche Bank Stalwart Decamps for State Street

    Deutsche Bank Stalwart Decamps for State Street

    State Street hires a Deutsche Bank executive as head of product management in the Asia Pacific region, according to a statement.

    Jeslyn Tan joins the firm after 22 years at Deutsche Bank. She will be responsible for developing and driving an end-to-end product strategy for the Asia Pacific region.

    Based in Singapore, Tan reports globally to Brenda Lyons, global head of asset servicing product, and regionally to Mostapha Tahiri, chief executive officer for Asia Pacific.

    Tan brings 26 years of deep experience in product management in Asia Pacific, and was most recently Deutsche Bank’s global head of product management, and has held numerous senior roles at the German lender during her tenure.

    We are well-positioned to better serve our clients by responding accurately and offering the right products and services to clients in the rapidly changing environment in the region, Tahiri said in the statement.

  • StanChart Nabs HSBC Private Banker

    StanChart Nabs HSBC Private Banker

    Standard Chartered Private Bank has expanded its Southeast Asia unit with the addition of a relationship manager from rival HSBC.

    Nipud Sud joins Standard Chartered Private Bank as an executive director and relationship manager, according to a note, effective August 2.

    Based in Singapore, Sud reports to senior client partner Suresh Nair who joined the bank in January this year and reports to private banking team lead of Singapore and Malaysia Adeline Chow.

    Sud has 18 years of banking experience, including ten in private banking with Citi, J.P. Morgan and, most recently, HSBC covering ASEAN and Hong Kong clients.

  • StanChart Profits Rise from Improved Loan Impairments

    StanChart Profits Rise from Improved Loan Impairments

    Pre-tax profit at Standard Chartered rose in the first half and beat analyst estimates, resulting in the resumption of interim dividend payments.

    Standard Chartered registered $2.68 billion in pre-tax profit, according to its latest first-half results, marking a 37 percent increase compared to $1.95 billion in the same period last year.

    The bank’s $2.55 billion in statutory pre-tax profit beat its compailed average analyst estimate of $2.23 billion.

    Despite lower income (5 percent decrease) and higher operating expenses, Standard Chartered still saw profits rise due to improved loan impairments fuelled by the economic recovery.

    The bank posted a net release of $47 million in credit impairments – including a net release of $67 million in the second quarter – marking a $1.61 billion decrease year-on-year.

    The Asia-focused British lender also announced the resumption of interim dividend payments of $94 million – or 3 cents per share – alongside a $250 million share buyback.

    I am encouraged by our positive performance in the first half of 2021 despite an uneven recovery from Covid-19,» said Standard Chartered group chief executive Bill Winters.

    We are more confident in achieving our return on tangible equity targets and we are pleased to announce today an additional share buy-back program together with the resumption of our interim dividend payment.

  • Square to buy Afterpay for $39 billion as buy now, pay later booms

    Square to buy Afterpay for $39 billion as buy now, pay later booms

    Square Inc, the payments firm of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, will purchase buy now, pay later (BNPL) pioneer Afterpay for US$29 billion (S$39.3 billion), creating a global transactions giant in the biggest buyout of an Australian firm.

    The takeover underscores the popularity of a business model that has upended consumer credit by charging merchants a fee to offer small point-of-sale loans which their shoppers repay in interest-free installments, bypassing credit checks.

    It also locks in a remarkable share-price run for Afterpay, whose stock traded below A$10 in early 2020 and has since soared as the Covid-19 pandemic – and stimulus payments to a workforce stuck at home – saw a rapid shift to shopping online.

    The all-stock buyout would value the shares at A$126.21, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday (Aug 2).

    That means a payday of A$2.46 billion (S$2.44 billion) each for Afterpay’s founders, Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar. China’s Tencent Holdings, which paid A$300 million for 5 percent of Afterpay in 2020, would walk away with A$1.7 billion.

    “We built our business to make the financial system more fair, accessible, and inclusive, and Afterpay has built a trusted brand aligned with those principles,” said Mr Dorsey in the statement.

    “Together we can better connect our … ecosystems to deliver even more compelling products and services for merchants and consumers, putting the power back in their hands.”

    The Afterpay founders said the deal marked “an important recognition of the Australian technology sector as homegrown innovation continues to be shared more broadly throughout the world”.

    Afterpay shares jumped slightly higher than Square’s indicative purchase price in early trading before settling just below it at A$119.36 by late morning, up 23.5 per cent and helping push the broader market up 1.2 percent.

    The deal, which eclipses the previous record for a completed Australian buyout – the US$16 billion sale of Westfield’s global shopping mall empire to Unibail-Rodamco in 2018 – also pushed up shares of rival BNPL players.

    Afterpay competes with unlisted Sweden-based Klarna, Australia-listed Zip Co and new offerings from US veteran online payments provider PayPal Holdings.

    “Few other suitors are as well-suited as Square,” said Wilsons Advisory and Stockbroking analysts in a research note.

    “With Klarna rumoured to be building a strategic stake in Z1P, and PayPal already achieving early success in their native BNPL, other than major US tech-titans lobbying an 11-th hour bid, we expect a competing proposal from a new party to be low-risk.”

    Credit Suisse analysts said the tie-up seemed to be an “obvious fit” with “strategic merit” based on cross-selling payment products, and that a competing bid seemed unlikely.

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which would need to approve the transaction, said it had only just been notified of the plan and “we will consider it carefully once we see the details”.

    Created in 2014, Afterpay has been the bellwether of the niche no-credit-checks online payments sector that burst into the mainstream last year as more people, especially youngsters, chose to pay in instalments for everyday items during the pandemic.

    BNPL firms lend shoppers instant funds, typically up to a few thousand dollars, which can be paid off interest-free.
    As they generally make money from merchant commission and late fees – and not interest payments – they sidestep the legal definition of credit and therefore credit laws.

    That means BNPL providers are not required to run background checks on new accounts, unlike credit card companies, and normally request just an applicant’s name, address and birth date. Critics say that makes the system an easier fraud target.

    The loose regulation, burgeoning popularity and quick uptake among users has led to rapid growth in the sector, and has reportedly even driven Apple Inc to launch a service.

    For Afterpay, the deal with Square delivers a large customer base in its main target market, the United States, where its fiscal 2021 sales nearly tripled to AUS$11.1 billion in constant currency terms.

    The deal “looks close to a done deal, in the absence of a superior proposal,” said Ord Minnett analyst Phillip Chippindale, adding that it “brings significant scale advantages, including to Square’s Seller and Cash app products.”

    Talks between the two companies began more than a year ago and Square was confident there was no rival offer, said a person with direct knowledge of the deal.

    Afterpay shareholders will get 0.375 of Square class A stock for every Afterpay share they own, implying a price of about AUS$126.21 per share based on Square’s Friday close, the companies said.

    Square said it will undertake a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange to allow Afterpay shareholders to trade in shares via CHESS depositary interests (CDIs).

  • Citi Posts All-Time High in APAC Net New Assets

    Citi Posts All-Time High in APAC Net New Assets

    Citi’s wealth management business in Asia Pacific registered a record-high in net new assets during the first half.

    Citi’s newly merged wealth management unit – Citi Global Wealth (CGW) – attracted nearly $15 billion in net new money across Asia Pacific, according to a statement, mostly from its wealth hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and UAE.

    This included $8 billion from the second quarter with assets under management growing 21 percent year-on-year.

    Citi posted $6.19 billion of net income in the second quarter – a nearly six-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

    Asset growth was supported by ongoing expansion at CGW which includes plans to add an extra 2,300 staff – including 1,100 relationship managers and private bankers – in order to add $150 billion in total client assets by 2025.

    Year-to-date, the American bank has already added «several hundred wealth professionals» in APAC, the statement added.

    «We are capturing market share as Asian clients increasingly require portfolio advice, design and allocation geared toward diversification of asset types and geographic exposures,» said Citi’s APAC chief executive Peter Babej. «As the world’s most global bank, with broad-based expertise across investment products, we are strongly positioned and fully committed to serving these needs.»

  • Singapore Crypto Startups Join Mastercard Engagement Program

    Singapore Crypto Startups Join Mastercard Engagement Program

    Two Singapore startups will help the payment giant accelerate innovation around digital asset technology. Singapore-based Mintable, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace; and Stacs, which provides a blockchain infrastructure for the financial industry to unlock value and enable effective sustainable financing, are among of a new cohort of seven startups at Mastercard’s «Start Path» global startup engagement program.

    The program supports fast-growing digital assets, blockchain, and cryptocurrency companies by providing access to strategic partnership opportunities, insights, and tools to grow. Companies participating in the new program aim to address pain points including asset tokenization, data accuracy, digital security, and seamless access between the traditional and digital economy.

    The announcement comes amid increased enthusiasm for a broader range of payment technologies in the Asia Pacific region as a result of the pandemic, and growing awareness of cryptocurrencies among the general public. Mastercard also said consumers are increasingly showing interest in being able to spend crypto assets for everyday purchases.

    We believe we can play a key role in digital assets, helping to shape the industry and provide consumer protection and security. Part of our role is to forge the future of cryptocurrency, and we’re doing that by bridging mainstream financial principles with digital assets innovations, Jess Turner, Executive Vice President of New Digital Infrastructure and Fintech, Mastercard, commented.

    Mastercard announced last week that it was looking to simplify for its partners the conversion from cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency, and would be leveraging partnerships to help crypto companies offer card programs.

    Earlier this month, rival Visa reported that consumers spent more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency on goods and services through Visa’s crypto-linked cards in the first half of 2021.