Retail News CRM

Tag: Banking

  • Ex-Hang Seng CEO Passes Away

    Ex-Hang Seng CEO Passes Away

    The former chief executive of Hang Seng reportedly passed away last week at the age of 57.

    Louisa Cheang Wai-man passed away last week, according to a statement from Hang Seng.

    The bank first disclosed that Cheang was undergoing treatment for a medical condition in July 2020 before she took a three-month leave of absence in May which was extended in August when the bank announced HSBC Hong Kong CEO Diana Cesar as her successor, effective September 1.

    Cheang has served as Hang Seng’s CEO and vice-chairman since July 2017 following the retirement of Rose Lee Wai-Mun. Prior to the appointment, Cheang worked for parent group HSBC where she held senior roles like group general manager and group head of retail banking. She first joined HSBC in its credit card department in 1999.

    At Hang Seng, Cheang is credited with pushing a number of key initiatives including gender diversity and digital transformation.

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  • Call For Rise in Banking Salaries

    Call For Rise in Banking Salaries

    Bank employee representatives have set their demands for this fall’s wage negotiations. Their objective is to raise salaries at the lower end.

    The Swiss Bank Employees Association is advocating a general wage increase and raise of at least 2.2 percent, or 300 francs a month for bank employees, according to a statement Thursday.

    The call is the outcome of a salary survey among more than 4,000 employees and a meeting of employee representatives in mid-September. The boost would help those on lower wages, in particular, the statement says.

    The association points out that while wages in the banking industry are rising, on the whole, not everyone is seeing the benefit. On an individual level, only 32 percent of respondents got a boost in 2021, down from 37 percent in the last survey.

    Banks were profitable, despite the Covid 19 crisis, and results from this year have continued to be good, with most banks having saved costs from people working from home.

    Next year the association will focus on fair and transparent rules for the wage-setting process.

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  • DBS Vickers Wins Crypto License

    DBS Vickers Wins Crypto License

    The brokerage arm of Singapore lender DBS will be able to provide asset managers and institutional investors access to products and solutions offered by the DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx).

    DBS Vickers has received formal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide digital payment token services as a Major Payment Institution, DBS announced on Friday.

    DBSV is now in a better position to support institutional and corporate investors in tapping into the growing potential of digital assets as an investment class, Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, DBS head of capital markets and chair of DDEx, said in the announcement.

    Launched in December 2020, DDEx has good demand from clients, including corporate and institutional investors, accredited individuals, and family offices, DBS said.

    The bank expects to double the number of participants on DDEx to 1,000 and to grow its base by 20-30 percent annually for the next three years as investments in digital tokens gain greater acceptance.

    We believe that DBSV’s licence, coupled with recent enhancements to DDEx such as round the-clock operations since August, could add to DDEx’s volumes in the coming months and accelerate growth momentum for DBS’ digital asset ecosystem, Eng said.

  • UBS Partners With Robeco

    UBS Partners With Robeco

    Over the past years there has been some back and forth between UBS and Robeco. Now the two have joined forces to launch a sustainability fund.

    The investment company Robeco has launched a global engagement equities fund in partnership with UBS’ global wealth management, according to a statement Thursday. UBS will remain an exclusive partner for the next six months and aims to invest $1.5 billion.

    The fund has the sustainable investment objective to drive a clear and measurable improvement in a company’s contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over three to five years, the statement says.

    Michiel Plakman is the fund’s lead portfolio manager, supported by Daniela da Costa, Peter van der Werf, Giacomo Moroni and Jan Anton van Zanten at Robeco.

    Robeco is no stranger to UBS: The Swiss bank’s chief sustainability officer Michael Baldinger, was previously CEO of Robeco. Last year UBS teamed up with Zug-based asset management giant Partners Group, on a private market offering for wealthy clients.

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  • HSBC Hires Digital Platforms Specialist in Singapore

    HSBC Hires Digital Platforms Specialist in Singapore

    The bank said the newly created role will help one of its key pillars of embedding its solutions into the digital platforms that its clients are adopting.

    HSBC has appointed Aman Narain as head of platforms for global commercial banking, a role in which he will lead its strategy, including the development, commercialization and innovation of propositions, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

    Narain joins the bank from Google, where he was instrumental in the build-out and commercialization of revenue-generating ecosystems, including the launch of Google Pay in Singapore and the design of the GooglePlex account in the U.S.. He previously led digital and marketing transformation for Schroders and held various leadership positions at Standard Chartered.

    Based in Singapore, Narain will report to Stuart Tait, regional head of commercial banking, Asia Pacific.

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  • Taiwan’s CTBC Bank Taps Avaloq for Private Banking Platform

    Taiwan’s CTBC Bank Taps Avaloq for Private Banking Platform

    CTBC Bank will implement Avaloq’s core banking solution internationally, starting from its business units in Hong Kong and Singapore.

    CTBC is consolidating and upgrade its international business on the Avaloq Core platform, in a bid to improve day-to-day operations, and enhance and deliver quality private banking services, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

    Avaloq Core will also provide the potential for the bank to consolidate its wealth management business, retail banking and other offerings within a single secure space, boosting the bank’s operational efficiency across the region, the announcement said. Avaloq has been building momentum in Asia-Pacific since the Swiss firm’s acquisition by Japanese corporation NEC in December 2020. The fintech previously announced a deal with Hong Kong’s Haitong International to accelerate the digitalization of its private wealth management business.

    CTBC Bank is Taiwan’s largest private bank by consolidated assets under management, and has the most extensive international presence of any Taiwanese bank, with over 116 overseas branches across 14 countries. CTBC Singapore and its private banking service was established in 2009, and is the bank’s regional hub covering Southeast Asia, while its Northeast Asia headquarters is in Hong Kong.

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  • UBS Creates ESG Role in Investment Bank

    UBS Creates ESG Role in Investment Bank

    The Swiss bank appoints one of its investment bankers to a key sustainability role.

    Zurich-based UBS is naming Laurent Bouvier to front a new team of investment bankers focused on environmental, social, and governance responsibility, according to a memo seen by finews.com. Bouvier, a managing director, is currently co-head of the global industries group, with Charles Otton.

    Bouvier’s promotion is part of a wider push by UBS and other investment banks to increasingly consider so-called ESG criteria in traditional sectors like industry. Wall Street rivals like Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have already set up similar teams, which first reported Bouvier’s appointment.

    A dealmaking veteran, Bouvier will be joined by Armin Peter and Samantha Sutcliffe, who have devoted themselves to sustainable banking and finance efforts at UBS since 2019. Peter is the global head of debt syndicate and the head of sustainable banking in the European, Middle East, and Africa regions. Sutcliffe is the head of green and sustainable finance.

    Bouvier previously spent more than 16 years at Credit Suisse, also as an MD, before joining UBS in 2015. He will be replaced in his current job by Philippe Chryssicopoulos, who will co-lead the industrials group with Otton.

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  • UOB Targets Doubling of Digital Retail Customers by 2026

    UOB Targets Doubling of Digital Retail Customers by 2026

    The bank said it would invest up to $500 million in digital innovation initiatives to reach its goal of serving more than 7 million customers in Asean.

    With digital banking now the preferred choice among UOB customers, the bank is «doubling down» on its data-driven model to create hyper-personalized digital experiences for its customers.

    The bank will be combining TMRW, its digital bank that launched in 2019 and is available in Thailand and Indonesia, with its mobile app «Mighty» on to one platform: UOB TMRW, the bank said in an announcement on Wednesday.

    By harnessing the best of TMRW and UOB Mighty in one platform, we can tap economies of scale to accelerate innovation especially in the area of hyper-personalised digital banking experiences and speed to market, Wee Ee Cheong, UOB deputy chairman and CEO, said.

    Upon the successful completion of its beta pilot currently underway among UOB employees, the platform will be launched for all UOB customers in Singapore later this year, the announcement said.

    UOB TMRW will be progressively rolled out across its key Asean markets, with the next markets expected to launch in the next 18 months.

    In this next phase, we are making it our goal to explore how technology can enable us to make the digital banking of tomorrow smarter and even more intuitive for our customers, Kevin Lam, head of TMRW and group digital banking, said.

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  • Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Hires Ex-DBS Duo

    Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Hires Ex-DBS Duo

    Deutsche Bank Wealth Management has hired two former executives from DBS Private Bank to bolster its South Asia business.  Shankar Jha joins the German private bank’s global South Asia (GSA) team in Singapore as a managing director and group head, according to a statement, reporting to global South Asia head Amrit Singh.

    Jha has over 20 years of private banking experience, most recently with DBS Private Bank where he spent six years, last as a senior director and team leader. Previously, he also worked for UBS Wealth Management and Citi Private Bank.

    Deutsche Bank Wealth Management also hired Sachin Thussu as a director and senior investment advisor.

    Based in Singapore, he will be part of the investment management team and report to head of investment management global GSA Ritesh Goenka.

    Thussu has over 20 years of experience across financial markets – most notably, FX and precious metals – and cross-asset advisory. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, he worked for DBS Private Bank, Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered Private Bank and Citi covering private wealth and quasi institutional clients from London, Zurich and Singapore.

    Year-to-date, Deutsche Bank’s GSA unit has hired 14 relationship managers across Dubai, Geneva and Singapore.

    Notable additions include ex-Julius Baer bankers Dhananjay Rathore as a managing director and Rajasekar Ayyalu as a director based in India where four relationship managers have been hired thus far this year. Other newly hired directors include Richard Van-Dirmen, Hervé Alykhan Ladak, Randeep Singh and Harshin Shah.

    The GSA unit also added three investment advisors in Dubai and Singapore.

    At Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, we value the importance of the GSA market to the Bank’s Asia strategy, and will continue investing, said Singh in the statement.

  • Citi Nets Ex-Goldman Southeast Asia Investment Banker

    Citi Nets Ex-Goldman Southeast Asia Investment Banker

    Citigroup has reportedly hired the former Southeast Asia head of investment banking from Goldman Sachs.

    Harry Naysmith will join Citi as its vice chairman of banking, capital markets and advisory for Southeast Asia.

    Naismith joined Goldman Sachs in 2013, last as its Southeast Asia head of investment banking. Previously, he also spent five years with ABN AMRO.

    Naysmith is the second Goldman head of Southeast Asia investment banking to join Citi in recent years.

    12-year Goldman executive and former Southeast Asia investment banking co-head Udhay Furtado left in September 2018 to join Citi as its co-head of equity capital markets.

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  • StanChart Announces Details on Digital Bank Venture with NTUC

    StanChart Announces Details on Digital Bank Venture with NTUC

    A StanChart veteran has been appointed to lead its digital-only bank in Singapore. Standard Chartered Singapore’s head of consumer, private and business banking, Dwaipayan Sadhu, has been appointed CEO of the bank’s new digital venture with NTUC Enterprise, details of which were released on Monday.

    Sadhu, who has more than two decades of experience across wealth management, payments, deposits, consumer lending, and digital banking, will hold both roles concurrently while transitioning to his new position by the end of the year.

    Standard Chartered will take a 60 percent stake in the venture, worth S$144 million ($107.28 million), with the NTUC’s enterprise arm taking the remaining 40 percent stake, worth S$96 million.

    Singapore is Standard Chartered’s second-largest market after Hong Kong. The bank announced plans for the digital venture with NTUC about a year ago, soon after it obtained the Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank (SRFB) status in Singapore, which gives it significant advantages such as the ability to set up a digital-only unit, lower amounts in paid-up capital and a greater number of places of businesses.

    Four other digital banks, which obtained licenses under a different process, are set to be launched in the republic in the coming year.

    With the new digital bank, Standard Chartered will be the only entity to operate a virtual bank in the region’s two largest hubs. In Hong Kong, it runs Mox – jointly owned with telecom firms PCCW and Hong Kong Telecom, and online travel agency trip.com.

  • HSBC Plans for Permanent Hybrid Work Model

    HSBC Plans for Permanent Hybrid Work Model

    HSBC is the latest to embrace hybrid working with plans to make it a permanent model for the bank worldwide.

    My own view on the return to office is it would be a waste if we didn’t learn from the last 18 months, said HSBC group chief executive Noel Quinn.

    The bank’s work-from-home embracement is part of broader plans to cut costs including a 40 percent reduction in property footprint in the coming years. It also changed its office policy to include two employees per desk, excluding branches, and scrapped the executive floor of its London-based headquarter.

    We’ve learned to live and operate in a very different way, Quinn said, though he noted that he didn’t want to be overly prescriptive.

    Despite the plans, Quinn highlighted some of the advantages of the physical workspace such as social relationships or spontaneity.

    I don’t want to lose that DNA and that teamwork, he said. I’m really glad to be back in the office, seeing colleagues and having conversations in the corridor or in getting stuff done on the spur of the moment, rather than having to book a VC call or a telephone call.

    Quinn also highlighted traveling in the pandemic era, with the bank expecting budget in this area to shrink by 50 percent.

    I remember one day sitting at home, I traveled the world in a day, talking to clients in different parts of the world, he said. You can’t do that forever. You still want to have face-to-face interaction.

    Global banks remain divided on work-from-home measures with some like Citi and Standard Chartered signaling or planning a permanent shift while others like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley preferring a return to the office.

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  • BNP Paribas in Talks to Form China Wealth Management JV

    BNP Paribas in Talks to Form China Wealth Management JV

    BNP Paribas’ asset management arm is reportedly in talks with a Chinese «big four» bank to form a wealth management joint venture in the mainland.

    BNP Paribas is in talks with Agricultural Bank of China’s (AgBank) wealth unit to form a wealth management joint venture, according to a report citing unnamed sources.

    BNP Paribas is expected to hold majority stakes in the joint venture.

    BNP Paribas joins the likes of Blackrock, Goldman Sachs and other global financial institutions seeking to tap into China’s $19 trillion wealth management market.

    French rival Amundi had initially discussed venture plans with AgBank but ultimately chose Bank of China as its partner.

    AgBank and other major state banks face political pressure to form wealth management joint ventures, the report added, indicating China’s willingness to open up.

    Within mainland China, BNP Paribas Asset Management already owns a Chinese mutual fund venture.

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  • UBS Takes Stake in AI Advisor Platform

    UBS Takes Stake in AI Advisor Platform

    UBS is taking a stake in an artificial intelligence platform that matches institutional clients with investment experts.

    UBS has invested $5 million in Lynk in its latest funding round, taking the technology company’s total funding to $35 million, Lynk said in a press release Wednesday. Lynk says it has a network of more than 840,000 global experts. Its proprietary technology is driven by an AI data engine that indexes individuals based on their experience and expertise to match users with subject matter experts on its platform.

    Lynk was founded by Peggy Choi in 2015. The firm has eight offices, including New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Shanghai and Toronto.

    UBS announced a global alliance with Lynk in May for its institutional investor clients and subscribed to the platform in 2020. The collaboration is run via UBS Investment Bank’s principal investment team.

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  • SGX to Ease Rules for SPAC Listings

    SGX to Ease Rules for SPAC Listings

    Singapore Exchange is reportedly readying to issue easier rules for the listing of special purpose acquisition companies in the city-state.

    SGX is preparing to be the first major Asian bourse to accept SPAC listings, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources.

    The exchange’s regulatory arm is now considering easing a minimum S$300 million ($223.2 million) market value proposal for SPACs and a proposal that warrants cannot be detached from underlying shares.

    SGX is expected to introduce other measures to safeguard investor interests but would simplify proposed guidelines to maintain attractiveness for SPACs.

    The latest report of looser listings rules follows market feedback that some of SGX’s earlier proposals were too strict.

    Singapore is attempting to improve its profile as an IPO destination of choice while Southeast Asian startups have been listing in their home markets or the U.S.Funds raised at SGX fell to a six-year low of $239 million, according to Refiniv data, representing less than 3 percent of Southeast Asia’s total $8.4 billion.

    Within the region, Singapore ranked behind Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand in terms of funds raised.

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