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Tag: Finance

  • BNP Paribas Nabs Lombard Odier’s Head of Asian Equities

    BNP Paribas Nabs Lombard Odier’s Head of Asian Equities

    BNP Paribas Asset Management hired a trio from Lombard Odier, including a new Hong Kong-based head of Asian equities.

    The French asset manager appointed Zhikai Chen as head of Asia equities, according to a statement, replacing Arthur Kwong who will leave the firm to pursue other opportunities. Chen will report to Guy Davies, global CIO for fundamental actives equities.

    Chen is a 20-year veteran in the financial industry with a wide range of experience including the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He was most recently with Lombard Odier where he was its head of Asia ex-Japan equities since 2012.

    Asian equities is an important asset class for our clients in the region, said Steven Billiet, APAC head of BNP Paribas Asset Management. We will also continue to focus on bringing our Asian equities capabilities to our international client base which is eager to leverage on the growth dynamic of Asia.

    Joining Chen from Lombard Odier are two portfolio managers, Jinwen Ouyang and Roxy Wong.

    Ouyang has 13 years of industry experience and was a portfolio manager for Asia at Lombard Odier. Previously, she had also worked with Value Partners and Société Générale.

    Wong has 20 years of markets and technology experience and was most recently a senior portfolio manager for Asia at Lombard Odier. Previously, she held various tech research roles with Mirae Asset, RCM and Bear Stearns.

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  • Goldman Sachs Keeps Partner Headcount Flat with 2020 Cap

    Goldman Sachs Keeps Partner Headcount Flat with 2020 Cap

    Goldman Sachs is reportedly adding no more than 60 partners in 2020 as part of a new drive to reduce the size and exclusivity of the top ranks. The cap is set to create the smallest class of partners since the mid-1990s, according to a report citing unnamed sources.

    Partners, which are appointed biennially, are considered the elite employees of the bank and receive various benefits including a small stake in the firm and access to exclusive investment opportunities alongside a $1 million salary.

    Any time one of the top 450 people at Goldman moves its gets written about, said Goldman CEO David Solomon, at a Credit Suisse forum in February this year, adding that top-10 executives exiting other banks would receive no such publicity.

    When appointed to the top role in late 2018, Solomon inherited a bank with around 500 partners. Although the total partner count doubled from 221 in 1999 when Goldman first went public, the 69 added that year was the lowest since. And in the two years after Solmon joined, at least 54 partners have left either by exiting Goldman or renouncing membership but remaining with the bank.

    At 60 or below, 2020 is set to become the new smallest class of partners for Goldman Sachs.

    In addition to a smaller class, Goldman is also offering partners «carried interest» or a share of future profits in its private investment funds which can be accessed investments as little as $10,000.

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  • Revolut Singapore Partners Income to Offer Insurance

    Revolut Singapore Partners Income to Offer Insurance

    Both platforms see customer empowerment and digitally-enabled collaborations as key to supporting customer needs. Snack by NTUC Income (Income) and Revolut Singapore will work together to incorporate lifestyle-based insurance offerings on Revolut’s digital banking app to provide more flexibility and boost customer empowerment in money management.

    Snack, launched in June, is a stackable, micro-insurance offering that embeds the purchase of coverage into daily activities. Its partners include Visa, EZLink, FoodPanda and more.

    The partnership with Snack layers insurance protection over our Revolut’s existing money management features and allows our customers access to micro-insurance products that are underwritten by NTUC Income. Customers will have the ability to purchase insurance products such as Term Life, Critical Illness and Personal Accident, with more products to be launched going forward, the announcement said. As part of the partnership, Revolut Singapore customers will also receive a one-time complimentary insurance coverage of S$500 ($367) when they sign up for an account on the Snack app.

    Snack’s modular approach to bite-sized insurance reimagines how people obtain and consume insurance. This provides tremendous flexibility in tailoring solutions based on the needs of customers and integrating it with partners’ platforms to create a unique experience, Peter Tay, Income chief digital officer, said.

    Revolut has reached over 70,000 signups in the republic since its launch one year ago. It has expanded its footprint this year with launches in the U.S., Australia and Japan. In the coming weeks, Revolut will be introducing fast and free top-ups using bank accounts and a prepaid debit card for children aged 7-17 to teach children to better manage money digitally.

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  • UBS Poaches Tech Executive From Credit Suisse

    UBS Poaches Tech Executive From Credit Suisse

    UBS is nabbing a prominent technology executive from crosstown rival Credit Suisse. It is the second such hire in short order.

    The Swiss bank is poaching David Tobin from Credit Suisse as its head of risk technology, a source familiar with the hire said. A spokesman for UBS confirmed the hire.

    Tobin relocates to Zurich for the job, effective October 19 and reports to Julie Shapiro, the Swiss bank’s head of risk and financial technology. He is currently the head of Credit Suisse’s investment bank credit risk as well as technology chief in Poland.

    The hire marks is the second high-ranking technologist UBS has poached from Credit Suisse in recent months: the larger bank also poached Jason Shane, a ten-year Credit Suisse veteran, as its new head of compliance, regulatory, and governance technology earlier this year.

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  • Wirecard Ordered to Cease Activities in Singapore

    Wirecard Ordered to Cease Activities in Singapore

    The ability of its Singapore entities to continue providing payment services here has been affected, following its parent company’s insolvency filing in Germany.

    The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has ordered Wirecard Singapore to cease payment services in the country and to return all customers’ funds by 14 October 2020, the regulator said in an announcement on Wednesday.

    As a result, Credit card payments at merchants using Wirecard Singapore’s services, as well as usage of pre-paid cards issued by Wirecard Singapore, will be affected, and customers are advised to look for alternative service providers.

    MAS has assessed that it is in the interest of the public for Wirecard SG to cease its payments services and promptly return all customers’ funds. This provides the greatest certainty to customers on their appropriate course of action, including seeking alternative service providers, the announcement said.

    The firm is at the center of one of the region’s biggest corporate accounting scandals in recent years, having admitted that €1.9 billion is missing from its financial accounts. The firm’s CEO Markus Braun as well as other top executives have been arrested, while former operating chief Jan Marsalek remains missing.

    The collapsed German fintech’s sacked operating chief went to an extreme – and adventurous – lengths to bamboozle auditors, according to a German report.

    So far, one Singaporean has been indicted – a director of a local accounting firm that allegedly helped Wirecard falsify letters about the funds held in its escrow accounts.

  • DBS and Keppel to Collaborate Under MOU

    DBS and Keppel to Collaborate Under MOU

    Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU), the two sides will collaborate on a range of initiatives that harness digital technologies to better serve customers and suppliers.

    DBS Bank and Keppel Technology & Innovation have agreed to work together on digital technologies to create more opportunities and efficiencies for both companies, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

    Three areas are covered under the MOU: exploring synergies between Keppel Group’s consumer businesses like M1, Keppel Electric and City Gas, and DBS’ consumer marketplace platforms; developing 5G-enabled digital banking solutions, and developing digital tools and platforms to provide bundled services from both M1 and DBS to large corporates and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs); and providing digital supply chain financing solutions to Keppel Group’s supplier ecosystem.

    The initiatives will be rolled out over the rest of the year, the announcement said.

    The value of knowledge grows when it is shared. Our collaboration with Keppel’s ecosystem of businesses exemplifies this by demonstrating how the cross-pollination of expertise and networks from different industries can help Singapore seize new opportunities here and in the global marketplace, Tan Su Shan, DBS group head of institutional banking, said about the partnership.

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  • UOB Kay Hian Partners Pico

    UOB Kay Hian Partners Pico

    The bank’s securities brokerage is working with the financial markets technology services provider, which will provide managed services and support for its new trading platform.

    Pico rapidly deployed a tailored platform for trading execution in the heart of Singapore’s liquidity hub that is engineered for seamless coordination of trading and risk strategies, it said in an announcement on Wednesday.

    UOB Kay Hian is one of Asia’s largest securities trading and investment firms. Headquartered in Singapore, it has offices in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, London, Shanghai, and New York.

    Working with Pico has helped UOB Kay Hian lower its OpEx, while freeing it to focus on optimizing its trading strategies and business operations, said director Desmond Yeo.

    Pico works with firms as a specialist partner to design, build, host and manage their electronic trading infrastructure. It connects to liquidity providers via PicoNet, a private ultra-low latency, resilient and comprehensive proprietary network mesh with the fastest path connections between on-net co-location sites.

    Pico opened offices in Singapore and Tokyo in mid-2018, and a year later announced its continued expansion in Asia with new hires, additional offices, and an increased data center presence in the region.

    The firm said it has plans to add 20 more data centers by 2021, including in China, Australia, South Korea, and India, to complement its existing 30+ global locations.

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  • UBS Mulls VR-Based WFH Traders

    UBS Mulls VR-Based WFH Traders

    UBS is reportedly exploring the option for traders to work from home through simulated experiences via virtual reality headsets.

    The bank is experimenting with creating a trading floor simulation for its London-based staff, according to a report, using Microsoft’s HoloLenses.

    If people really can’t come to the office, can we create a virtual presence?» said Beatriz Martin, head of U.K. at the bank. «We are thinking about experimenting with the tools that are out there.

    The HoloLenses are a head-mounted unit that uses multiple censors, advanced optics and holographic processing that display information and images that can blend in with the real world.

    UBS’s work-from-home efforts extend beyond just its trading operations or the European region. The Swiss bank has already launched a «UBS Workspace» platform which allows employees to have mobile-based access to any files or the information in the exact same format at any time and place.

    Within Asia, 90 percent of employees are able to work from home via «UBS Workspace» with three-quarters of all staff across wealth management and investment banking already being enabled by the platform.

  • Barclays APAC Head of FX Trading Departs

    Barclays APAC Head of FX Trading Departs

    Barclays’ head foreign exchange trading in Asia Pacific will reportedly exit just 18 months after joining the British bank.

    Pritpal Gill, head of G10 FX and FX options trading in the region, has been let go by Barclays, according to a report citing unnamed sources, after joining its Singapore offices less than two years ago in January 2019.

    Prior to joining Barclays, Gill ran a family office and also worked with Citigroup.

    Gill’s exit is part of Barclay’s broader efforts to reduce costs by cutting 100 senior jobs mostly from its corporate and investment banking unit.

    Previous senior exits include Jonathan Kitei, Americas head of securitized product sales, and Anindya Das Gupta, India head of trading.

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  • UOB’s Private Equity Arm Achieves Impact Milestone

    UOB’s Private Equity Arm Achieves Impact Milestone

    The firm has also obtained verification from Ernst & Young for its Asia Impact Investment Fund’s alignment with the World Bank’s impact investing principles.

    UOB Venture Management (UOBVM) has issued its disclosure statement on the Operating Principles for Impact Management, becoming the first signatory of the Impact Principles in Southeast Asia to do so, the bank announced in a statement on Tuesday.

    UOBVM’s disclosure statement demonstrates how it upholds the Impact Principles through its impact investing strategy and approach, in particular for its Asia Impact Investment Fund (AIIF), ensuring that impact considerations are purposefully integrated into key stages of the investment process.

    Launched in 2015 together with Credit Suisse, the $55-million fund invests in high-growth companies from the education, healthcare, and agriculture sectors in Southeast Asia and China. It also focuses on investments that will help to improve financial inclusion, affordable housing, sanitation, clean energy, and water for the region’s low-income communities.

    The Impact Principles provide a clear market standard for investors looking to achieve social, economic or environmental impact alongside financial returns. With this disclosure statement and independent verification, UOBVM enters a new era of transparency for the benefit of impact investors, Nicolas Marquier, Singapore country manager of IFC, said.

    UOB has also opened its second impact fund for subscriptions. The fund has a target fund size range of $100 million and is expected to make equity investments of about $1 million to $15 million each, the announcement said.

    The need for impact investments is even more pressing now with the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacting low-income communities in Asia and pushing more people below the poverty line, Seah Kian Wee, chief executive officer of UOBVM, said.

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  • Citi Promotes APAC Head of Private Banking Ops

    Citi Promotes APAC Head of Private Banking Ops

    Citi has promoted its private banking head of operations and technology in Asia Pacific to an even larger role covering the same area for the broader group.

    Stacey N. Lacy has been named as APAC head of operations and technology for Citi, effective immediately, according to a statement from the bank. In her new Singapore-based role, Lacy reports to Mike Whitaker, Citi’s global head of enterprise infrastructure, operations, and technology as well as Peter Babej, APAC chief executive.

    Her responsibilities include «delivery of client-focused initiatives, operations, and technology and shared services deployment» for the bank across the institutional clients’ group and global consumer banking businesses in the region.

    Citi’s shared service centers in the region are located in India, Singapore, Malaysia, and China.

    Lacy joined Citi in Hong Kong as a global consumer bank management associate over 23 years ago in 1996 and has since then has taken on various ops and tech roles within the bank. She was previously Citi’s ASEAN head of ops and tech for four years and China head of ops and tech and shared services for another four years.

    In her most recent role as Citi Private Bank’s head of ops and tech, she as credited with «expanding the business’ transaction capabilities, driving digital adoption by clients and revamping key operations processes and products».

    Banking accomplishments aside, the statement also highlighted Lacy’s role as a «champion» for diversity and inclusion initiatives such as active mentorship and development of global female talent internally.

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  • StanChart Fined for 2007 Takeover Blunder in India

    StanChart Fined for 2007 Takeover Blunder in India

    India’s regulator fined Standard Chartered one billion rupees over violation of foreign exchange rules during a takeover of a local bank in 2007. India’s anti-money laundering agency slapped one of the country’s largest fines on a foreign bank in history following an 8-year probe that found it in violation of the foreign exchange management act which monitors offshore financial transactions.

    According to a report citing an order from India’s enforcement agency, Standard Chartered – the country’s largest foreign bank by branches – acted as a dealmaker and custodian for the transferal of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) shares to a group of overseas investors 13 years ago without seeking permission from the local central bank.

    Senior officials at Standard Chartered saw an investment in TMB shares as an opportunity that might ripen into eventually larger ownership for the bank,» Sushil Kumar, the enforcement agency’s special director, said in the order.

    46,862 shares were transferred to foreign investors including GHI, Swiss Re Investors, FI Investments, Cuna Group and Sub-Continental Equities, an affiliate of Standard Chartered in April 2008. The transfers were made through escrow accounts with Standard Chartered, which acted as both a transaction agent and a lender to one of the investors on the deal.

    Standard Chartered through its affiliate Subcontinental was a proposed and eventually an actual investor in TMB shares to be purchased through the escrow agreement arrangements, Kumar added.

    Separately, TMB was fined almost 170 million rupees ($2.3 million) for similar charges.

  • Digitalization of Asian Private Banking in Numbers

    Digitalization of Asian Private Banking in Numbers

    Even private banking in Asia – awash with not only the usual posh amenities but also various other characteristics that make it uniquely more high-touch – was not immune digital disruption during the pandemic.

    Within the banking sector, private banking has often been named as one of the segments most immune to digital disruption due to several common factors: larger account sizes and transaction sums that justify human resource costs; complex products and sensitive issues that are difficult to discuss while not in-person; and an older and traditionally less tech-savvy client demographic.

    This is even more amplified in Asia due to a hands-on investor culture coupled with a high share of active trading, leading to more need for manual interaction with clients. But increased market volatility and unprecedented geopolitical uncertainty, amidst an ongoing pandemic, has created an impetus for engagement regardless of method.

    We have met all our clients in their living room over the last six months, which was the first time ever, said Lombard Odier’s Asia chief executive, Vincent Magnenat, in a recent online conference. And guess what? We could have done this before Covid. We needed something like Covid to realize that we don’t need to take a flight to engage with our clients and partners.

    Many of the digital tools and capabilities being showcased during the pandemic, such as secure instant messaging or interactive virtual events, were already available to clients before the outbreak. But against the backdrop of restricted physical access, greater uncertainty and a digital option, a new factor has emerged: self-motivation.

    In the past if you wanted to share your view on macro or on markets, you basically had two ways: set up a large client event or distribute research documents and have bankers follow-up, said Omar Shokur, Asia chief executive of Indosuez Wealth Management in a previous interview. But during this crisis, we have seen bankers and clients becoming more receptive to interaction through new channels like virtual events, not to mention a much faster time to market.

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  • DBS to Form Securities Joint Venture in China

    DBS to Form Securities Joint Venture in China

    The firm joins a string of international banks that have registered with Chinese authorities to set up onshore brokerages after the financial market supervisor loosened the rules on foreign access to financial markets.

    DBS Bank has received approval to establish a securities brokerage joint venture in China, which will provide brokerage, securities investment consulting, securities underwriting and sponsorship, as well as proprietary trading, the bank announced on Wednesday in a statement.

    The bank had been in discussions to set up a securities firm in China together with a local partner as far back as 2018.

    DBS Securities (China) will be 51 percent owned by DBS Bank, 24.67 percent by Donghao Lansheng Investment Management, 13.33 percent by Shanghai Huangpu Investment Holdings, 6.5 percent by Shanghai Huiyang Asset Management, and 4.5 percent by Shanghai Huangpu Guidance Fund Equity Investment.

    DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta called it a key milestone for the bank, and said it would «make available the best of DBS’ capabilities and offerings, and provide customers in China with a full range of onshore and offshore financial services.»

    The establishment of DBS Securities will further support the long-term sustainable development of DBS Group in China and meet the changing needs of customers in multiple aspects, Neil Ge, China head of DBS Group said.

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  • DBS Issues First SORA-Based Loan for Agribusiness Industry

    DBS Issues First SORA-Based Loan for Agribusiness Industry

    This is the industry’s first SORA loan coupled with an interest rate swap, which provides certainty of interest rates.

    DBS has issued a $200 million ($146.4 million) loan to agribusiness group Wilmar International –  the agribusiness industry’s first corporate loan agreement pegged to the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (SORA), the bank announced on Thursday.

    The loan facility’s interest rate, which references SORA, comprises a compounded daily SORA rate calculated in arrears and an applicable margin.

    Charles Loo, Wilmar chief financial officer, said the loan will put the company in good stead to ride the wave of interest rate reforms and drive better understanding and greater adoption of risk-free rates in general, which is more stable and robust.

    SORA is a transaction-based interest rate benchmark underpinned by the SGD overnight interbank funding market. To determine the interest rate of a SORA-based loan facility, the daily SORA rates are compounded in arrears and the interest rate is determined by the end of the relevant interest period.

    Singapore plans to shift away from the SGD Singapore Interbank Offered Rates (SIBOR) in three to four years and adopt SORA as the new interest rate benchmark for the Singapore Dollar cash and derivatives market, saying this will bring more transparent loan market pricing for borrowers and more efficient risk management for lenders.

    The SORA IRS demonstrates DBS’ commitment to increase liquidity in SORA-derivatives, Andrew Ng, DBS group head, Treasury & Markets, said. This will allow clients like Wilmar to continue to hedge their loan exposures and facilitate a smoother transition into the new benchmark.

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