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Tag: bank

  • UBS Grounds Bankers Amid Virus Fears

    UBS Grounds Bankers Amid Virus Fears

    UBS is halting international travel for its staff, asking its employees to postpone meetings or opt for remote ones. The move comes in response to COVID-19.

    The Swiss bank on Wednesday told its more than 60,000-strong staff to stop traveling for meetings, a UBS spokeswoman said on Wednesday. UBS is adopting the policy for all not absolutely business-critical» travel in response to COVID-19, a disease caused by the new coronavirus.

    Existing meetings will be postponed – or held remotely through digital channels, the spokeswoman said. UBS bankers who had visited China, Italy, South Korea, or Iran in recent weeks – for work or personal travel – are asked to work from home for the next 14 days.

    Roughly 20 percent of UBS’ staff work in the Asia-Pacific region and a sizable amount in China – but the Zurich-based wealth manager doesn’t break out employee numbers by country. Its cross-town rival Credit Suisse put roughly 1,000 compliance, information technology, and trading employees in Switzerland on a staggered home office rotation from Monday.

    UBS is apparently warning its staff to hold back on personal travel, and requiring approvals from senior management if they want to travel to non-bank events. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization said COVID-19 can be contained, but that its mortality rate is higher than the typical seasonal flu.

  • Axa Appoints Managing Director In Newly-Merged Unit

    Axa Appoints Managing Director In Newly-Merged Unit

    Axa Insurance Singapore named a managing director for retail and health, as part of a broader strategy to streamline its businesses.

    Effective immediately, Julien Callard will lead the retail and health strategic business unit in a newly expanded role, with responsibility for driving the continued growth of Axa’s retail business and health business as well as the respective distribution functions. This includes developing a differentiated value proposition and offerings that will strengthen its position as a health partner to its customers.

    Over the past 20 years, Callard has held several leadership roles across the Axa Group and developed deep and extensive knowledge of the business, said Jean Drouffe, CEO of Axa Singapore in a statement.

    The appointment is part of a broader strategy to streamline and strengthen Axa’s business by merging its retail and health strategic business units, in order to become a more customer-centered company, the insurance group said. Callard originally joined the Axa Group in 2000 and he has held senior positions across multiple countries spanning actuarial, risk, marketing and reinsurance.

    Prior to joining Axa Singapore, he was Head of retail property and casualty at Axa Mexico. He has worked in operational and functional positions across retail, commercial, and reinsurance lines.

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  • Sergio Ermotti Set to Leave UBS

    Sergio Ermotti Set to Leave UBS

    UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti will leave the bank after retiring from his position later this year. He won’t become the chairman of Switzerland’s largest bank, as some observers had expected.

    Instead, Sergio Ermotti on April 17 will stand for election as a non-executive member of the board of Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest reinsurer.

    In 2021, he will be nominated to succeed Walter Kielholz as chairman, according to a statement by Swiss Re on Tuesday.

    Kielholz is one of the heavyweights in Swiss finance and has been chairman of Swiss Re since 2009. He was on the board of the reinsurer for more than 20 years. Between 2003 and 2009, Kielholz was chairman of Credit Suisse.

    I am honored to be following in the footsteps of Walter Kielholz, who over the past decades immensely furthered the development not only of Swiss Re, but the entire Swiss financial center, said Ermotti, according to the statement.

    Today’s announcement put paid to speculation that CEO Ermotti would be replacing Chairman Axel Weber after retiring from his current position at the end of October. When the bank announced Ermotti’s departure at the end of February, it didn’t make a statement about a potential handover of responsibilities at the top of the bank.

    At the end of his tenure at UBS, Ermotti will have been CEO of Switzerland’s biggest bank for nine years. Together with Weber, who was elected chairman of the bank in 2012, he has moved UBS away from the classic investment banking model toward a strategy based on wealth management.

    More recently, the talk had been about differences of opinion at the top as the board was said to be unhappy how Ermotti had set up his succession plan. UBS has not been able to give the share price a boost, which has never recovered from the financial crisis.

    The appointment of Dutch banker Ralph Hamers in February as Ermotti’s successor came as a major surprise. Hamers is known for his digital banking expertise and will need to get UBS ready for the future.

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  • HSBC Hires Wealth Teams Across Asia

    HSBC Hires Wealth Teams Across Asia

    HSBC has announced the launch of a new global business, combining retail banking and wealth management and global private banking. Recruitment for wealth teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China is on track.

    HSBC’s new unit will become one of the world’s largest global wealth managers with $.4 trillion in assets, with nearly half of the assets from Asia, according to a media release on Monday. Wealth and personal banking will cover the entire spectrum of private wealth, from retail clients to ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals.

    Across Asia, where wealth pools are growing faster than in any other region, HSBC’s wealth revenues grew 12 percent in 2019 (year on year) to $.7 billion.

    This move creates one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing wealth franchises, centered in Asia and serving clients around the world. HSBC’s wealth propositions are compelling, increasingly digital and support individuals no matter where they are in their wealth journey, from first-time investors – to clients considering generational planning needs, Charlie Nunn, CEO of Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC, said.

    In 2019, HSBC grew affluent and emerging high net worth clients globally in Premier1 and Jade, respectively, by 7 percent and 14 percent year on year. Over half of Jade’s total clients globally are in Asia. Global private banking, where profit before tax grew by 19 percent, attracted a record $23 billion of net new money in 2019, two-thirds of which were in Asia. 2019 also saw an increase in Asia client assets of 22 percent to $51 billion.

    Recruitment for wealth teams across Hong Kong, Singapore, and mainland China is on track. Since 2017, both businesses have recruited 800 people, including private bank relationship managers, investment counselors, UHNW solution specialists, and product specialists, and Jade directors and relationship managers, investment and insurance specialists.

    In 2019, four Jade Centres were opened across Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. This year, HSBC has recently opened two more Jade Centres in Hong Kong and plans to open one in Beijing.

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  • Ex-Citi Singapore Banker To Join Grab-Singtel

    Ex-Citi Singapore Banker To Join Grab-Singtel

    Citibank Singapore’s head of retail banking Charles Wong is set to join the Grab-Singtel entity that is bidding for a digital full bank in Singapore.

    With strong credentials for bringing about a strong turnaround of Citi Singapore’s business, Charles Wong is likely to play a key role in the digital full bank if the Grab-Singtel consortium secures the license, according to a report.

    Wong had resigned from the U.S. bank in February after more than 20 years at Citibank, where he spent nearly five years in his last role as head of retail banking at Citibank Singapore. Under his leadership, the unit delivered consistent double-digit growth.

    Grab Holdings and Singtel have jointly applied for a digital full bank license, with Grab holding a 60 percent stake in the proposed consortium, and Singtel holding the rest.

    Both partners see financial services as a natural extension of their core businesses.

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  • ING and Maybank Top Creditors To Troubled Commodity Trader

    ING and Maybank Top Creditors To Troubled Commodity Trader

    ING and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) were the top creditors of Singapore commodity trader Agritrade International, which was last month placed under interim judicial management.
    Malaysia’s Maybank tops the list of secured lenders to Agritrade with $118 million owed to it, while Dutch bank ING is owed $100 million, according to a report. Agritrade International was placed under interim judicial management in February after the court dismissed an application for a debt moratorium.
    The trading company has $1.55 billion in outstanding liabilities, including $983 million owed to secured lenders, an affidavit by Agritrade’s chief executive officer Xinwei Ng dated Jan. 16, showed. Multiple Banks InvolvedFrench, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, the United Arab Emirates and Korean banks, along with 10 private funds are among Agritrade’s other creditors, are also on the list. Others on the list include global commodity traders.
    Agritrade said in the affidavit it ran into financial problems around 2018 amid a declining commodities market and its funding issues were compounded after many banks halted funding.
  • OCBC Cuts Days In Issuing First Electronic Banker’s Guarantee

    OCBC Cuts Days In Issuing First Electronic Banker’s Guarantee

    OCBC Bank has issued an electronic banker’s guarantee (eBG), making it the first lender to tap on Singapore Custom’s Electronic Guarantee Program.

    OCBC Bank became the first bank to leverage Singapore Customs’ electronic Banker’s Guarantee program launched on Monday, issuing an electronic banker’s guarantee (eBG) to Singapore Customs on behalf of vCargo Cloud, an Infocomm Technology solution and service provider that performs customs declaration services for forwarders and shippers.

    It has taken some time for trade finance to be digitalized, but the momentum has picked up over the last few years. Already, close to half of our trade transacting customers who were previously sent in paper trade applications are now doing so via our internet banking portal Velocity@ocbc,» said Melvyn Low, Head, Global Transaction Banking, OCBC Bank in a media statement.

    «And now, with this inaugural eBG, we have seen the end to end digitalization of the Banker’s Guarantee process, which is a milestone for the trade industry’s digital transformation,» added Low. OCBC Bank said its API connectivity with the Networked Trade Platform (NTP) has enabled the bank to electronically transmit details of its customers’ eBG to Singapore Customs.

    As a result, the time taken from an application – which can be done via the bank’s business online banking platform Velocity@ocbc – to delivery of the Banker’s Guarantee to Singapore Customs, has gone from 7 working days to 1 working day. Businesses can benefit from this more efficient process as it mitigates the risk and costs that result from delays and disruptions to their imports into Singapore.

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  • DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS is ramping up its portfolio advisory capabilities to provide Private Bank and Treasures clients with more insightful and comprehensive investment reviews.

    DBS is introducing a portfolio review tool, co-developed with wealth technology provider EdgeLab, to give clients in-depth assessments of their portfolio performance and risk exposures, the bank announced in a statement on Thursday.

    According to the bank, the tool addresses gaps in traditional client investment reviews, which often miss valuable contextual information such as the performance of each investment against the wider portfolio or equivalent benchmarks, and where the overall portfolio risk exposures lie.

    Understanding what you own and how each investment impacts your portfolio is fundamental to making robust investment decisions. It is key to navigating today’s uncertain markets, where it is important to go back to basics, and not leave things to luck or chance, Sim S Lim, group head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, said in the statement.

    A report with this information takes only five minutes to generate, and will allow relationship managers (RMs) to offer more personalized and relevant investment recommendations, DBS said. The report will also be provided as supplements to monthly client statements.

    The bank said that in the next phase of the development of the tool, it will equip RMs with the ability to stimulate investments into existing portfolios, as well as propose and construct new client portfolios.

    Among its efforts to enable more informed decision-making, DBS also recently added MSCI ESG Ratings, which measures a company’s resilience to long-term, financially relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, into its suite of wealth products, advisory and discretionary portfolio services.

  • Stanchart Pushes Back Target as Earnings Surge

    Stanchart Pushes Back Target as Earnings Surge

    Standard Chartered on Thursday has pushed back its target return on tangible equity, despite posting a commendable increase in annual profits. The revenue growth came from its main markets.

    The lender posted a pretax profit of $3.71 billion for 2019, up from $2.55 billion in 2018, according to its results statement. The 45.5 percent increase in profits defied the headwinds of global trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong.

    However, this is slightly below the $3.94 billion average of analysts’ forecasts compiled by the bank.

    The bank highlighted that its target of a 10 percent return on tangible equity, previously set for 2021, would be pushed back. In October, the global lender said that the goal had become more difficult amid worsening global economic conditions.

    These headwinds are expected to be transitory, but we now believe it will take longer to achieve our RoTE target of 10 percent than we previously envisaged,” it said in an earnings statement to the stock exchange.

    Stanchart’s results announcement comes after rival HSBC Holdings warned it could suffer loan losses of up to $600 million if the virus outbreak continues into the second half of the year.

    The bank added it has approved the buyback of up to $500 million worth of shares, which will commence shortly. It is in the midst of reviewing whether to do further capital return upon completing the sale of its stake in Indonesian lender Permata.

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  • BNP Paribas Negative On India’s Consumption Recovery

    BNP Paribas Negative On India’s Consumption Recovery

    The expectation for India’s consumption to recover in 2020 is getting pushed out further, according to forecasts by BNP Paribas.

    Given that the nation’s slowest economic expansion in 10 years has led to a deceleration in local consumer staples sales for the sixth straight quarter, the brokerage expects India’s consumption recovery to be delayed.

    There is a lack of meaningful catalysts for consumption to recover to its potential in the year to December, Kunal Vora, a Mumbai-based analyst at BNP Paribas Securities India wrote in a note to clients. A sustainable recovery in rural income growth and a sharp uptick in consumer sentiment index are necessary for recovery.

    The brokerage last month turned negative on the consumer goods sector, pointing out that lower raw material prices and tax cuts were masking underlying weakness in sales. Consumer sentiment in the nation has worsened to an almost five-year low while manufacturing slack at companies widened to the most on record, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed this month.

    The federal budget for the year starting April 1 didn’t offer much in terms of big-bang stimulus to boost rural incomes. Meanwhile, economic growth is still weighed down by bad debts in its banking sector. The three months to Dec. 31 marked the sixth consecutive quarter of moderation in aggregate revenue growth for consumer staples, and management commentaries indicate companies are uncertain about the timing of recovery.

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  • DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS Enhances Advice and Client Engagement for HNWIs

    DBS is ramping up its portfolio advisory capabilities to provide Private Bank and Treasures clients with more insightful and comprehensive investment reviews.

    DBS is introducing a portfolio review tool, co-developed with wealth technology provider EdgeLab, to give clients in-depth assessments of their portfolio performance and risk exposures, the bank announced in a statement on Thursday.

    According to the bank, the tool addresses gaps in traditional client investment reviews, which often miss valuable contextual information such as the performance of each investment against the wider portfolio or equivalent benchmarks, and where the overall portfolio risk exposures lie.

    Understanding what you own and how each investment impacts your portfolio is fundamental to making robust investment decisions. It is key to navigating today’s uncertain markets, where it is important to go back to basics, and not leave things to luck or chance,» Sim S Lim, group head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, said in the statement.

    A report with this information takes only five minutes to generate, and will allow relationship managers (RMs) to offer more personalized and relevant investment recommendations, DBS said. The report will also be provided as supplements to monthly client statements.

    The bank said that in the next phase of the development of the tool, it will equip RMs with the ability to stimulate investments into existing portfolios, as well as propose and construct new client portfolios.

    Among its efforts to enable more informed decision-making, DBS also recently added MSCI ESG Ratings, which measures a company’s resilience to long-term, financially relevant environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, into its suite of wealth products, advisory and discretionary portfolio services.

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  • Stanchart Pushes Back Target As Earnings Surged

    Stanchart Pushes Back Target As Earnings Surged

    Standard Chartered on Thursday has pushed back its target return on tangible equity, despite posting a commendable increase in annual profits. The revenue growth came from its main markets.

    The lender posted a pretax profit of $3.71 billion for 2019, up from $2.55 billion in 2018, according to its results statement. The 45.5 percent increase in profits defied the headwinds of global trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong.

    However, this is slightly below the $3.94 billion average of analysts’ forecasts compiled by the bank.

    The bank highlighted that its target of a 10 percent return on tangible equity, previously set for 2021, would be pushed back. In October, the global lender said that the goal had become more difficult amid worsening global economic conditions.

    These headwinds are expected to be transitory, but we now believe it will take longer to achieve our RoTE target of 10 percent than we previously envisaged,” it said in an earnings statement to the stock exchange.

    Stanchart’s results announcement comes after rival HSBC Holdings warned it could suffer loan losses of up to $600 million if the virus outbreak continues into the second half of the year.

    The bank added it has approved the buyback of up to $500 million worth of shares, which will commence shortly. It is in the midst of reviewing whether to do further capital return upon completing the sale of its stake in Indonesian lender Permata.

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  • Broad-Based Franchise Growth Brings UOB Record Earnings

    Broad-Based Franchise Growth Brings UOB Record Earnings

    The bank’s total income for 2019 grows 10 percent to cross $10 billion, led by healthy client franchise growth and stronger trading and investment income. It is recommending a full-year dividend of S$1.30 per ordinary share.

    UOB achieved record net earnings of $4.34 billion ($3.1 billion) in 2019, up 8 percent from 2018, the bank announced on Friday.

    In particular, it noted higher net interest income, fee growth from wealth management and credit cards, and stronger trading and investment income. At the same time, its expenses grew by 12 percent year-on-year due to talent and technology investments, with a cost-income ratio of 44.6 percent.

    Wholesale banking income grew 6 percent to S$4.1 billion in 2019, with 8 percent growth in non-Singapore income, 6 percent growth in non-real estate income, and 8 percent growth in non-loan income. Its retail business, which includes business banking, grew 9 percent from 2018 to S$4.3 billion. Income from high affluent customers increased 14% year on year, while assets under management in this segment grew by 14 percent to S$127 billion – 61 percent from overseas customers.

    The bank’s net profit rose 10 percent in the fourth quarter to S$1.01 billion, up from S$916 billion a year ago, driven by growth in net interest income and trading and investment income.

    Compared to its strong third-quarter, earnings fell 10 percent, but this was chalked up to seasonally lower fees and trading and investment income.

    UOB said it is focused on riding Southeast Asia’s long-term growth potential, and will «grow selectively and seize opportunities within [its] target segments.»

    It is positioning its wholesale banking business to capture growing cross-border trade and investment flows. Its retail business hopes to ride on the growing affluence and wealth potential of the region’s rising middle class, using an omnichannel and ecosystem partnerships strategy.

    In a presentation accompanying the results announcement, UOB said it would be rolling out its digital bank TMRW to Indonesia this year.

    It noted the S$10 billion market opportunity in ASEAN, and said the digital bank is on track to be marginal cost positive within five years.

    The bank said it expects downward pressure on customer margins in 2020, with a slight uptick in credit costs, given current conditions. However, it hopes to sustain momentum in fee income growth led by wealth management and to keep its cost/income ratio stable with a paced investment approach.

    Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and chief executive officer, acknowledged the challenging environment, particularly due to the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic, but noted the bank’s relief assistance measures to cushion its impact on customers.

    We believe the region will weather this storm and are confident of ASEAN’s long-term potential. We will continue to invest in our capabilities, including digital, and seize the opportunities arising from the shifting economic environment, Wee said in the results statement.

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  • OCBC Posts Record Net Profits in 2019

    OCBC Posts Record Net Profits in 2019

    OCBC’s posted a record in net profits after broad-based growth across interest and non-interest income growth drove the bottom line 8 percent higher.

    Annual net profits at OCBC reached S$4.87 billion ($3.48 billion) after the bank ended the year on a strong note with a 34 percent increase to fourth-quarter net profits.

    Net interest income climbed 7 percent to reach a new high of S$6.33 billion driven by both asset growth and an increase in net interest margin, mainly in Singapore and Greater China.

    Non-interest income increased 19 percent to S$4.54 billion driven by growth across the board. Net income rose 5 percent to S$2.12 billion led by higher wealth management and credit card fees while net trading income nearly doubled to S$977 million primarily due to increases in client flow income and mark-to-market gains in Great Eastern Holdings’ investment portfolios. Investment securities sales also grew ten-fold to S$171 million.

    In addition to another year of record earnings, according to OCBC group CEO Samuel Tsien, the bank had also met its loan targets and its ESG (environmental, social, governance) ambitions, especially within its green and renewables financing portfolio, are on track to meet its 2022 target.

    OCBC achieved a strong performance in 2019 which marked another consecutive year of record earnings, Tsien said. Looking ahead, the global economic outlook is expected to be weaker than originally expected. We are watchful of the impact to our business and customers from the continuing trade tensions, heightened geopolitical risks and the COVID-19 outbreak, and will extend support to customers to help them overcome the market challenges.

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  • Some Banks Already Prepare for Economic Rebound in Asia

    Some Banks Already Prepare for Economic Rebound in Asia

    Some financial firms operating in Singapore and Hong Kong have delayed hiring due to the coronavirus outbreak but others are quietly laying plans to prepare for an economic rebound in Asia.

    Despite the slowdown in hiring seen by some recruitment firms in the two financial centers, some lenders have moved ahead to acquire talent in the locations they view as a strategic fit. For example, U.S. lender J.P. Morgan on Monday announced the appointment of three new senior staff in Asia, with one being a newly-created role.

    New digital banks, which do not need physical branches to serve clients, are also getting more staff to deal with inquiries and expanding their offerings. On job portal jobs.db.com, a search for virtual banking jobs in Hong Kong landed at least seven new listings by virtual banks such as Ping An OneConnect and WeLab this week. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Z.A. Bank said it has received over 20,000 applications to be new customers despite the gloomy situation.

    Many domestic and foreign institutions in the two financial hubs have slowed recruitment, according to headhunters in the two cities. The hiring processes have been affected by quarantines, precautionary measures that include travel restriction to and from China, and decisions not to conduct face-to-face interviews.

    Everybody is distracted,» said Gurj Sandhu, a managing director at Morgan McKinley Group in Singapore. While none of his clients are canceling roles, hiring has fallen in priority, he added.

    Hiring processes and relocation plans are taking longer than usual because of logistical challenges. Bethan Howell, a Hong Kong-based consultant at Selby Jennings, gave the example of a person scheduled to relocate to Hong Kong from Shanghai for a quant fund.

    The person may have to work from the client’s Shenzhen office while waiting for a visa, which is taking more time these days, she said. As a result, some lenders are considering whether to hold off on adding headcount for non-essential roles such as back-office functions, according to Mark Li, head of client solutions at Randstad Singapore.

    Although some financial firms are conducting interviews by video conference or phone, closing the deal is more problematic, especially at investment banks and wealth-management units. This is because bankers are considered «big-ticket items,» said Hubert Tam, a managing partner at Sirius Partners in Hong Kong.

    Private banks and investment banks are holding off on hiring until they can meet candidates in person, even if they had a good record last year, he added.

    In fact, many private bankers with clients in mainland China would have to travel to the country to meet clients first to «get their blessings» before moving banks, according to Amod Jain, a Morgan McKinley consultant in Singapore. Not everything can be done by phone.

    In fact, some banks have pushed back events meant to generate sales and legacy planning opportunities. A popular conference amongst financial executives – Money20/20 Asia – that was earlier scheduled to happen in March, has been moved to August, according to its website.

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