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Tag: Finance

  • Standard Chartered Adds ASEAN Private Banker

    Standard Chartered Adds ASEAN Private Banker

    Standard Chartered added a private banker focused on the south and southeast Asia market, joining most recently from Bank of Singapore.

    Standard Chartered Private Bank appoints Lawrence Goh as managing director and deputy market head for ASEAN and South Asia, according to a statement.

    Based in Singapore, Goh reports to Cedric Lizin, regional head, private banking ASEAN & South Asia and global head of global South Asian community.

    Goh has 20 years of experience in the financial sector including five in asset management and the last fifteen in private wealth management, specifically in the ASEAN region. He was most recently at Bank of Singapore where he spent 12 years covering various southeast Asia markets. Previously, he also worked for Citi Private Bank covering ultra-high net worth individuals and families in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Australia.

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  • Thai Central Bank to Trial Retail Digital Currency

    Thai Central Bank to Trial Retail Digital Currency

    The pilot will initially be conducted on a limited group under the BOT before it is expanded to the public, retail stores, banks and non-banking facilities.

    The Bank of Thailand is set to begin testing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the second quarter of 2022, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday.

    The BOT will assess all results and associated risks from the Pilot Test, to ensure that Retail CBDC is beneficial to the public, business sector, and country as a whole, and does not undermine economic and financial stability in the future, Vachira Arromdee, BOT assistant governor, said in the statement.

    BOT said public demand for retail CBDC will gradually rise over time and that CBDC could become an alternative payment option in the future.

    It cited a public survey and focus group discussions conducted in April 2021, in which most respondents agreed with the BOT’s approach to retail CBDC development and viewed the currency as a beneficial infrastructure open to access and competition, with the potential to foster greater development of a safe financial innovation in the future.

    Respondents also agreed that the CBDC design guidelines can help mitigate any negative impacts on the Thai financial sector.

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  • Vietnam leads globally in cryptocurrency adoption

    Vietnam leads globally in cryptocurrency adoption

    Vietnam leads globally in cryptocurrency adoption with 41 percent of respondents claiming to have bought Bitcoin and the like, according to a recent survey.

    Twenty percent of Vietnamese said they had purchased Bitcoin, the highest among 27 countries polled with 42,000 respondents, according to the survey by U.S. based financial consultancy Finder.

    “Remittance payments may have played a significant role in these numbers, with cryptocurrency an option for migrants who want to send money home and avoid exchange fees,” the report stated.

    Despite having the 53rd largest economy based on gross domestic product, Vietnam placed 13th in realized Bitcoin gains for 2020, according to Cointelegraph.

    Adoption was especially high in Asia, with 30 percent of respondents in Indonesia and India claiming to have bought cryptocurrency, the Finder’s survey found.

    In Malaysia and the Philippines, this proportion was 29 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

    There were between 1,160 and 2,511 respondents for each country covered in the study.

    Data from Statista in February showed Vietnam had the second-highest rate in terms of cryptocurrency use among 74 surveyed economies, driven by remittance payments.

    Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not recognized as legitimate means of payment in Vietnam. The State Bank of Vietnam has warned that owning, trading and using cryptocurrencies are risky and not protected by law.

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  • UOB Investment Banker Joins Chinese Brokerage

    UOB Investment Banker Joins Chinese Brokerage

    The experienced equity brokerage and investment banker will head up Haitong Securities’ corporate finance team in Singapore.

    UOB’s former head of equity capital markets (ECM) Jack Kang has joined Haitong International Securities (Singapore) as an executive director.

    Kang, who moved to Haitong in July, spent 11 years at UOB. He was previously ECM vice president at CIMB Securities, and ECM head at Phillip Securities.

    The publication noted the demand for investment bankers in Singapore, especially those with experience in the tech sector, amid a surge in deals, as well as a rapid expansion of Chinese firms in the city-state.

    We are expanding cautiously in line with business needs, Kang said.

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  • HSBC Launches Portfolio-Based Advisory for HNW Clients

    HSBC Launches Portfolio-Based Advisory for HNW Clients

    HSBC continues expanding its wealth management offering with the latest addition of a portfolio-based advisory solution.

    HSBC has launched its portfolio-based advisory solution Wealth Portfolio Plus (WPP) targeting its Hong Kong-based Jade segment – clients with $1 million or more in investable assets.

    Previously, HSBC Jade clients could only select individual products that are aligned to their risk profiles but the new offering will enable them to review investment portfolios holistically and grant access to a wider range of products.

    We’re thrilled to bring portfolio-based advisory services to customers for the first time outside of a private bank through Wealth Portfolio Plus, powered by BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth technology, said Sami Abouzahr HSBC’s head of customer wealth, wealth, and personal banking, Hong Kong. Since WPP provides portfolio-level rather than transactional-level analysis, new investment options can then become available to customers that fit their needs.

    The WPP offering follows the launch of risk management solution Wealth Portfolio Intelligence Service (WPIS) last year which targets high net worth and affluent banking clients.

    Thus far, WPIS has generated over 130,000 risk assessment reports and contributed nearly HK$30 billion ($3.86 billion) in net sales growth from more than 70,000 cases of investment portfolio rebalancing.

    HSBC continues to expand its offering as part of its broader ambitions to become a leading wealth manager in Asia by 2025.

    In June, the private bank launched online trading in Asia. And in April, it rolled out institutional services for single-family offices in the region.

  • Asia Assets Climb Higher at HSBC Private Banking

    Asia Assets Climb Higher at HSBC Private Banking

    Assets under management at HSBC Private Banking climbed higher, driven in part by more than $9 billion of net new inflows in the first half of 2021.

    Asia assets under management at HSBC Private Banking grew 25 percent to $193 billion in the first half of this year, according to a statement, driven in part by $9.3 billion of net new money inflows.

    This accounts for over 45 percent of HSBC Private Banking’s total assets under management worldwide at $427 billion, according to its recent interim report.

    In addition to private banking, HSBC also saw growth across its affluent segments in Asia – Premier and Jade – with a 7 percent increase in the number of affluent and higher net worth clients to 1.7 million.

    Asian wealth revenues in the first half increased 26 percent and account for much of global wealth revenue growth.

    Asian wealth balances – the sum of client assets from HSBC’s Premier, Jade, and private banking segments – reached a new high of $810 billion and accounted for $49 percent of global assets.

    HSBC continues to pursue its ambitions of becoming a leading wealth manager by 2025.

    It has rolled out a series of mobile solutions and digital enhancements for wealth clients in key Asian markets.

    The bank also added around 600 full-time employees in the first half – including 350 personal wealth planners for its mainland China mobile services HSBC Pinnacle with plans to add another 100. The bank said it is on track to hire over 1,00 client-face wealth staff in Asia by the end of 2021.

    The positive momentum of our Asian Wealth business this year shows the traction we are seeing on-the-ground with our clients, as we forge ahead with our considerable investments in technology, products, and people,» said APAC regional head of wealth and personal banking Greg Hingston.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • Apple working on exclusive Apple services promotions for Apple Card users in the US

    Apple working on exclusive Apple services promotions for Apple Card users in the US

    Apple has now set up a new way of promoting its services to Apple Card owners in the US. The company has now started giving users promotions of services in the Wallet app, in a special section of the app with special offers.

    The new feature was spotted by Mark Gurman on iOS 15 and the Wallet app. Currently, the promotion available was regarding a News+ offer; however, the link does not lead anywhere so it is possible it is still in development.

    It seems the new feature is not only available to iOS 15 but it is also shown to Apple Card users in the US with iOS 14.

    Until now, Apple Card users could benefit from exclusive benefits, but usually, these were related to other stores or services. Now, Cupertino is more aggressively promoting Apple News+ or possibly other Apple subscriptions in the future.

    Apple News+ is a subscription for the News app, that allows you to read newspapers and magazine articles ad-free. The price of the subscription is $9.99 a month, giving you access to more than 300 titles, online and offline browsing, and even News+ audio stories for the week’s best articles.

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  • 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.»

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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