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Tag: Finance

  • Axa’s Architas Launches Asia Business

    Axa’s Architas Launches Asia Business

    The firm has launched a Hong Kong-based asset management business and made several appointments to support its growth.

    Architas, part of the global Axa group, was approved by Hong Kong regulators as an asset manager last week. The firm announced several appointments: Zaid Alrifai as head of Architas Asia; Mai Khanh Vo as chief investment officer; and Beatrice Jiang as head of legal and compliance.

    Alrifai joined Axa in 2009, and was most recently its Hong Kong-based head of business development. Mai, Axa Asia’s head of investment, joined the firm in 2017, after almost 19 years at Amundi Asset Management in France. Jiang joined the Axa in 2018 and was previously legal counsel at BNP Paribas Investment Partners.

    Supporting Architas Asia’s operations are offshore responsible officers Nicolas Deschamps, Architas global head of client group, and Jaime Arguello, global chief investment officer.

    The launch of our Hong Kong business is a key milestone in our mission to drive the growth of open-architecture investment solutions, said Matthieu André, who was appointed CEO of Architas in January. Previously, he was deputy CEO and chief strategic development officer of Axa Europe. He joined the firm in 1995.

    André said Architas’ move strategically supports Axa group’s unit-linked strategy in Asia by providing credible and independent fund selection.

    In 2017, Architas launched three Irish-domiciled globally diversified multi-manager funds as part of its regional offer in Asia. The firm recorded €35 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2019.

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  • UBS Bonus in Times of Crisis

    UBS Bonus in Times of Crisis

    UBS has had a great start to the year 2020 – and yet, under the impression of the coronavirus pandemic, the company plans to curtail bonus payments, if shareholders are forced to take a cut of their dividend.

    Should UBS not suddenly unearth a negative surprise when managers put together first-quarter results in coming days, the bank will present a very nice set of numbers: net income for the first three months of 2020 amounted to about $1.5 billion, a third above the year-earlier figure, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

    With a strong operating performance in all business divisions, even after accounting for credit loss expenses and own credit valuation adjustments, the bank will exceed the expectations of analysts (which date back to the time before the pandemic). It seems unlikely though that the boom will continue under the current circumstances.

    It seems that Switzerland’s largest bank succumbed to the pressure applied by the finance regulator Finma and the demand for the solidarity of the management with shareholders. Should the bank not be able to pay the second installment of the dividend in the autumn of 2020 because of a weaker performance this year, the board and executive will also see their variable payment components affected.

    In that case, the bank will not pay its top managers a cash bonus. The bank would instead convert the bonus into deferred equity and similar financial products.

    UBS also said it might resort to additional measures with respect to the pay of Chairman Axel Weber and CEO Sergio Ermotti. The latter is one of Switzerland’s best-paid managers. He earned a total of 12.5 million Swiss francs in 2019.

    Credit Suisse, which also altered the way it will pay out the dividend to shareholders, didn’t make a statement in regard to pay. It has said in mid-March that it had a successful start to the year.

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  • Pandemic Causes Virtual Banking Launch Delays

    Pandemic Causes Virtual Banking Launch Delays

    Hong Kong’s newly licensed virtual banks will look to delay their launches due to an ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

    Since the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued eight virtual bank licenses last year and earmarked February this year for the final launches, the city has been victim to over 1,000 cases of coronavirus infections and four deaths.

    With the exception of ZA Bank – jointly owned by mainland online insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance and property developer Sinolink Group – no licensed digital lenders have fully kicked off for business.

    Of the seven remaining virtual banks, three have made soft launches for trials – Ant Bank, Airstar Bank – jointly owned by mobile maker Xiaomi and Hong Kong-headquartered financial services group AMTD – and Mox.

    The remaining four – WeLab Virtual Bank, Ping An OneConnect Bank, Tencent-backed Fusion Bank and Bank of China (Hong Kong)-backed Livi Bank – have yet to announce any launch dates, according to a report citing the pandemic as the cause for delay.

    The outbreak of Covid-19 has inevitably affected the virtual banks’ preparation for the launch of the business, according to a statement from the HKMA.

    Hong Kong is not alone in delaying digital banking launches in a region where various financial hubs have been vying to enhance their capabilities in the space including, most notably, rival Singapore. The city-state had originally planned to unveil up to five license winners from the reported 21 applicants in June 2020.

    The delayed license issuance will allow applicants to] focus resources on ensuring monetary and financial stability and ensuring that financial institutions remain resilient, and able to perform their role in supporting businesses and individuals through this challenging time, the MAS said, adding it could resume the process in the second half of the year.

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  • UOB Chief Sees Pay Rise

    UOB Chief Sees Pay Rise

    The board has also recommended a final dividend of 55 cents and a special dividend of 20 cents per ordinary share. UOB deputy chairman and CEO Wee Ee Cheong received $10.75 million ($7.53 million) in 2019, an increase of 1.8 percent from last year, the bank said in its Annual Report, published on Wednesday.

    Apart from his base salary of S$1.2 million, Wee received S$9.52 million in bonuses, 60 percent of which will be deferred and vested over the next three years. Of the deferred variable pay, 40 percent will be issued in deferred cash, while the balance will be in the form of share-linked units. He also received S$32,000 in benefits-in-kind and transport-related benefits, the report said.

    The bank also said it decided to defer the adoption of a revised directors’ fee structure that would raise their fees, recommended by independent consultant Aon Hewitt and approved by the board in 2019, in view of the challenging environment exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak and in anticipation of difficult times ahead.

    The bank, earlier announced record net earnings of S$4.34 billion ($3.1 billion) in 2019, up 8 percent from 2018.

    In the report, Wee reaffirmed the bank’s confidence in Asean, saying that structural shifts in global supply chains present many opportunities in the region, which the bank is well-placed to capitalize on.

    In the past year, UOB opened its first branch in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, marking the bank’s first foray out of Ho Chi Minh City, where it has operated a representative office since 1993. The bank also acquired a Vietnam asset manager, in line with regionalization plans.

    The bank also opened its seventh branch in Zhongshan, Guangdong, to support the Asean-Greater Bay Area trade flows arising from the manufacturing, information technology and logistics sectors, and is enhancing its support for sectors that support the region’s economic growth, such as through its regional U-Solar program. This year is also the first time the bank has included a standalone sustainability report.

    According to the bank, it issued $950 billion in sustainable financing, including green loans, sustainability linked loans and loans for green-certified buildings in 2019. It also has $1 billion in AUM of investments that incorporate ESG factors and/or social impact assessment in the investment process.

  • CIMB Singapore Partners Security Token Offerings Platform

    CIMB Singapore Partners Security Token Offerings Platform

    The bank’s partnership with iSTOX will expand private capital markets access for its clients.

    CIMB Singapore is partnering ICHX Tech to allow its clients in the Asean region to raise funds in a faster, more flexible and efficient way on its blockchain-enabled platform, a press release on Wednesday announced.

    The firm operates Singapore-based platform iSTOX, which supports the issuance, custody and secondary trading of digitized securities using advanced smart contracts and distributed ledger technology to streamline the process.

    We are pleased with this partnership to provide our clients with an alternative digital solution as digitization is one of the pillars that we are looking at to build aggressively within the bank in the next few years, Victor Lee, CEO of CIMB Bank Singapore, said in the statement.

    Founded in 2017, iSTOX is backed by Singapore Exchange (SGX), Temasek Holdings subsidiary Heliconia, Japan’s Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, Thailand’s Kiatnakin Phatra, and South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management.

  • HSBC Expands Wealth Portfolio Intelligence Service

    HSBC Expands Wealth Portfolio Intelligence Service

    The bank said it expanded its service to new asset classes in response to the increasing demand for reviewing the investment portfolio due to recent market volatility.

    HSBC’s Wealth Portfolio Intelligence Service (WPIS), offered to its high-net-worth «Jade» segment, will add bonds, equities, currencies, cash and time deposits, the bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

    The service, powered by Blackrock’s Aladdin Wealth platform, uses similar tools that institutional investors use to analyze risk exposure. The bank said that since its introduction to Jade clients in 2019, it has generated over 20,000 reports on risk insights and analysis for their unit trust holdings.

    As the enhanced WPIS covers all the major elements of a multi-asset wealth portfolio, it «creates new opportunities to build resilient investment portfolios in alignment with clients’ personal risk and investment preferences,» said Greg Hingston, regional head of Wealth and Personal Banking, Asia Pacific, and head of Wealth and Personal Banking, Hong Kong, in the statement.

    Higher Demand for WM Services

    The bank said it is seeing increased demand for wealth management services among its affluent customers. Apart from personalized investment solutions and advisory services, Jade hopes to attract «salaried millionaires» who prioritize self-enrichment with experiential offerings and a luxury concierge.

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

  • HSBC Names Asia Private Banking COO

    HSBC Names Asia Private Banking COO

    HSBC continues to bolster its private banking business in Asia with its hire of chief operating officer, who joins from J.P. Morgan’s wealth arm.

    Sharon Oh joins HSBC Private Banking as its chief operating officer, replacing Gaurav Rao, who recently relocated to London for another role within the private bank. In her new role, Oh will report to Siew Meng Tan, APAC head of HSBC Private Banking, and Anil Venuturualli, global COO of the business. A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the hire.

    Oh was most recently with J.P. Morgan’s private banking arm where she was its chief of staff in the London-based global institutional client segment. Prior to this, Oh spent five years with J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Hong Kong-based unit and was also previously Credit Suisse’s North Asia COO.

    Earlier this year, HSBC merged its retail, wealth management and private banking business into a single $1.4 trillion unit – WPB – in a bid to drive double-digit growth in client assets and revenue in the coming years.

    Oh will help us accelerate the delivery of our key initiatives and to harness the benefits of becoming part of WPB, Tan said in a statement.

  • Banks Temporarily Close Branches Across Singapore

    Banks Temporarily Close Branches Across Singapore

    Banks across Singapore are closing branches due to the reduced traffic expected as a result of enhanced social distancing measures, announced on Friday to curb the spread of Covid-19.

    While the financial sector was exempted from Singapore government’s order to suspend activities at workplaces from 7 April until 4 May inclusive, banks across the island announced limited operations during this period.

    The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) affirmed that financial services will remain open and available to all customers and counterparties in Singapore and globally.

    All financial markets in Singapore remain open, and payment services are unaffected, the regulator said in a statement.

    DBS will progressively close 29 DBS/POSB branches until 4 May, starting with DBS Marina Bay Sands on 7 April, followed by POSB Newton and POSB Square 2 on 9 April. The remaining 28 branches that stay open will continue to operate regular banking hours but will reserve its first hour of operation for vulnerable customers like the elderly.

    The bank is also closing all DBS Treasures and DBS Treasures Private Client centers from 9 April to 4 May. Safe-deposit box access at DBS/POSB branches and DBS Treasures Centre will be available on Wednesdays by appointment. Full SME banking services will be available at branches in areas with higher trade and SME footfall. In addition, trade counters at Marina Bay Financial Centre, Jurong Gateway and Towner Road will also remain open, the bank said.

    OCBC Bank will close 22 of its 46 branches from 9 April to 4 May. Among the 24 branches that remain open are the 19 that offer Sunday banking services, as well as the five that offer safe deposit box services, with no changes to their banking hours. Its Trade Service Centres at OCBC Centre South and OCBC Tampines Centre 2 remain open.

    The bank said it has seen a 35-percent uptick in customers using digital solutions for their banking needs during this period and urged more to use its mobile and Internet banking platforms to minimize the need to visit bank branches.

    In a statement released on Friday, UOB said it «remain[s] committed to providing the banking services that are essential to them during these trying times.»

    The bank is expected to announce later today the details of branches that will remain open during this time.

    Standard Chartered is closing half of its 16 branches, while Maybank has closed six of its 15 branches. Seven of HSBC’s 13 branches in Singapore will shut, while Citi has closed eight branches, with its remaining locations operating revised hours, including a dedicated hour of vulnerable customers.

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  • HSBC Names Asia Private Banking COO

    HSBC Names Asia Private Banking COO

    HSBC continues to bolster its private banking business in Asia with the latest hire of chief operating officer, formerly with J.P. Morgan wealth arm.

    Sharon Oh joins HSBC Private Banking as its chief operating officer, replacing Gaurav Rao, who recently relocated to London for another role within the private bank. In her new role, Oh will report to Siew Meng Tan, APAC head of HSBC Private Banking, and Anil Venuturualli, global COO of the business. A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the hire.

    Oh was most recently with J.P. Morgan’s private banking arm where she was its chief of staff in the London-based global institutional client segment. Prior to this, Oh spent five years with J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Hong Kong-based unit and was also previously Credit Suisse’s North Asia COO.

    Earlier this year, HSBC merged its retail, wealth management and private banking business into a single $1.4 trillion unit – «WPB» – in a bid to drive double-digit growth in client assets and revenue in the coming years.

    Oh will help us accelerate the delivery of our key initiatives and to harness the benefits of becoming part of WPB, Tan said in a statement.

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  • HSBC, StanChart to Scrap Dividends on BOE Orders

    HSBC, StanChart to Scrap Dividends on BOE Orders

    Recession fears drove the Bank of England to call the U.K.’s largest banks, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, to scrap dividends and share buybacks.

    Alongside Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, the two largest British lenders in Asia made statements to temporarily halt shareholder payouts and share buybacks for 2019 and throughout 2020 following discussion with the Bank of England. The five largest banks in the U.K. had originally planned for 7.4 billion pounds ($9.3 billion) in dividend payments over the next two months.

    In addition, the BoE also ordered banks to scrap cash bonuses to prepare for a likely recession.

    The PRA also expects banks not to pay any cash bonuses to senior staff, including all material risk-takers, and is confident that bank boards are already considering and will take any appropriate further actions with regards remuneration over coming months, said the BoE’s head of prudential regulation authority Sam Woods in a statement.

    Whilst workers will undoubtedly feel the brunt of the economic malaise, numerous efforts are being made to shift some of the burden to others including corporates and their shareholders.

    In addition to dividend cuts, banks have also committed to retaining jobs with HSBC, as well as a raft of global banking giants, recently announcing temporary halts to job cutting. The measures will retain costs that were due for unloading and over 60,000 jobs.

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  • Citi Extends Relief Payouts to Hong Kong

    Citi Extends Relief Payouts to Hong Kong

    Lower-income staff at Citi will receive payouts in line with chief executive Michael Corbat’s call to extend global support during the crisis.

    Hong Kong-based employees with an annual base salary of HK$470,000 (US$60,622) or less will receive a one-time payment of HK$8,000 ($1,032). This follows the bank’s announcement last week to provide economic support to 75,000 staff globally including $1,000 to each worker in the U.S. with an annual salary of $60,000 or below.

    This initiative is for colleagues who are more likely to face economic hardship in the current situation,» said Angel Ng Yin-yee, Hong Kong and Macau chief executive at Citi, in a statement. «We hope that our support will help lighten their load as they cope with other challenges and family priorities during this time.»

    Citi also made a similar announcement in Singapore, highlighting relief measures to support retail and institutional clients such as interest and fees waivers, tenure extensions, alternative settlement arrangements, and loan payment reduction programs. And in support of the Singapore government’s latest financial relief program, Citi will also offer clients the option to convert outstanding unsecured balances from their Citi credit cards into low-cost term loans.

    «We recognize the financial stress to our clients as a result of the COVID-19 situation,» said Amol Gupte, ASEAN head and Singapore country officer at Citi, expressing support for clients and the city-state’s government.

    For the time being, global banks continue to demonstrate support for the global economy, especially the economically vulnerable, amidst a persistent coronavirus pandemic. In addition to payouts or loan-related relief, the industry has committed to temporary job cut halts, dividend cancellations and even free online classes for homebound children.

  • DBS Adds Online Classes to Relief Portfolio

    DBS Adds Online Classes to Relief Portfolio

    The Singaporean lender continues to provide innovative digital support to locals affected by the ongoing pandemic alongside financial relief. To help cope with the crisis, DBS will offer free online supplementary classes for primary and secondary school students. In terms of financial relief, home loan payment relief and free Covid-19 relief insurance coverage will be provided, the latter of which has already attracted 600,000 customers.

    And for SMEs, the bank rolled out a 6-month principal repayment moratorium on property loans and collateral-free digital business loan of up to S$50,000 ($35,000).

    While the Covid-19 situation is an unfolding one, it is apparent that some sectors and individuals are being hit particularly hard,» said Shee Tse Koon, Singapore country head at DBS, adding that more relief measures will be announced next week. As the largest bank in Singapore, DBS is committed to joining the industry to help Singaporeans and SMEs tide through these challenging times.

    More than just providing pure financial support, DBS has stood out for its creative approach to providing potentially effective relief.

    In addition to online classes, the bank recently rolled out a homegrown digital food delivery platform to help its F&B SME client base boost revenues in dire times of need. Interested users will be supported by the bank for end-to-end processes from marketing and e-menus to payment and physical delivery.

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  • UBS Boss Donates to Corona Efforts

    UBS Boss Donates to Corona Efforts

    Sergio Ermotti is donating 1 million francs towards pandemic relief efforts. The UBS boss is working from home in his native Ticino, which borders the hardest-hit area in Europe.

    The Swiss wealth manager’s CEO said he has dispersed 1 million Swiss francs ($1.1 million) in personal funds to his family’s foundations to help with relief efforts. Ermotti is working from home in Montagnola, a small Swiss village overlooking Lake Lugano and near the Swiss-Italian border.

    I hear about the difficult situation in hospitals and people who have lost members of their family. The situation is dramatic! Ermotti told Swiss tabloid Blick in an interview on Monday. His corona donation will be dispensed by a foundation he launched together with his wife and his siblings in 2011.

    Ermotti said the funds will be routed via non-profit organizations to people in need of emergency funds. UBS itself has also been generous, donating 30 million francs for patients and families in Switzerland affected by the virus’ outbreak.

    The crisis represents an opportunity for Ermotti to display UBS’ Swiss credibility: Now, we’re part of the solution and not part of the problem anymore, he told the outlet, alluding to Switzerland’s 2008 bailout of UBS.

    Last week, the Swiss government unleashed a massive bailout, enlisting banks like UBS to help small businesses battered by the crisis. «We received 10,000 loan applications within 36 hours. By Sunday night, all of them were processed and roughly 1 billion Swiss francs approved,» Ermotti said.

    UBS, like Credit Suisse, has pledged to donate any proceeds from the emergency loans to charity. Ermotti ends his nine-year tenure as CEO of UBS in November when Ralph Hamers, head of ING, takes over his job.

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  • Covid-19 Hits UOB

    Covid-19 Hits UOB

    United Overseas Bank has confirmed a case of Covid-19 at Tower 2 of its UOB Plaza headquarters in Singapore.

    The employee who tested positive for the coronavirus works in a non-customer facing role and was last in the office on 16 March, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

    He is currently under medical care, and colleagues with whom he had close contact are now on Leave of Absence until next week, and those who worked on the same floor are currently working from home, while monitoring their health for any flu-like symptoms, the statement said.

    Meanwhile, UOB is conducting a thorough deep cleaning and disinfection of the entire floor and the common areas of UOB Plaza 2.

    DBS was the first bank to evacuate its staff when a 62-year-old male employee at its Marina Bay Financial Center (MBFC) Tower 3 headquarters tested positive for Covid-19 in February.

    Later that month, another of its employees was hit – this time a 35-year-old male staff member at its Ngee Ann City office on Orchard Road. He was in close contact with the first DBS employee infected, a spokesperson said.

    The two have since recovered and have been discharged from the hospital.

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  • StanChart Offers Preferential Financing Rates

    StanChart Offers Preferential Financing Rates

    Standard Chartered on Monday said it will set aside $1 billion to finance companies that are providing goods and services to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak.

    The lender plans to offer financing at preferential rates to firms that are manufacturers and distributors in the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare providers, as well as manufacturers of items such as ventilators, face masks, protective equipment, and sanitizers.

    Clearly, there’s a cost for companies to switch into these hugely in-demand items, so it’s an area where we can help them get up and running more quickly. At the same time, we want to make sure that existing manufacturers and service providers get the support they need, said Simon Cooper, CEO of StanChart’s corporate and institutional banking division in a media statement.

    Financing will come in the form of loans, import finance, export finance, or working capital facilities to help these firms tool up and get their products to market. The bank, which derives about two-thirds of its total operating income from Asia, is also trying to identify companies that may switch into, or add, anti-virus products to their output but have not indicated that they will do so.

    Our industry teams are looking across our client base and, given our understanding of clients’ current manufacturing processes, we’re assessing which companies might want to consider adding these items to their production line, Cooper added.

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