Global Business Network
The acceleration in the closure of bank branches as a result of Covid-19 has been well documented, as banks step up cost-cutting drives and customers shift to digital services. More than 4000 bank and building society branches have closed in the UK over the past six years, according to consumer group Which. There remains, however, … Read more
Banks in developed Asian economies are increasingly looking to acquire stakes and broaden their franchises in emerging economies around the region, as they contend with saturated local markets, low interest rates and constrained domestic growth prospects. Leading banks in Japan, South Korea and Singapore have stepped up their offshore expansion strategies over the past few … Read more
HSBC’s $575m acquisition of insurance giant Axa’s Singapore arm, which was announced on August 16, represents a ramping up of the bank’s ambitious ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy. As part of this strategy, HSBC is also looking to expand its wealth management services across the region. The UK-based banking group plans to invest $6bn in Asia … Read more
UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has been under pressure from investment banks to scrap the cap on bankers’ bonuses amid claims it could put London at a competitive disadvantage. The cap, which sets a limit on bonuses at two times salary, was introduced across the EU in 2013 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, … Read more
Claire Dancy, Lloyds Banking Group The digital transformation trend started a few years ago in the banking industry, as banks saw an opportunity to improve customer experience and their competitiveness. And the Covid-19 pandemic certainly accelerated the digital trend. The pandemic has also highlighted where banks have been successful, as well as exposed their weaknesses. … Read more
In the same week that Gary Gensler, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, sought additional powers to protect investors from “Wild West” cryptocurrency markets, Singapore was poised to grant regulatory consent to a cryptocurrency exchange for the first time. Australia’s Independent Reserve has secured an ‘in-principle’ approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore … Read more
Despite rising inflation as countries around the world reopen following Covid-19, the continued fragility of the global economy will likely see interest rates remain at ultra-low levels for the foreseeable future as central banks seek to shore up the recovery. A low-rate environment, however, remains a problem for banks’ bottom lines. The average bank earns … Read more
The European Commission set out an ambitious package of legislative proposals on July 20 outlining how the bloc plans to step up its efforts to tackle financial irregularities following a series of scandals. The measures include the establishment of a new anti-money laundering authority (AMLA) that will have direct supervisory powers and will seek to … Read more
Non-performing loans (NPLs) in the Italian banking system totalled €203.3bn in April 2017, and were a cause of widespread concern in Europe. “The economic situation [after the sovereign debt crisis] and poor credit control in the banking sector caused bad loans to pile up,” says Maddalena Martini, an economist at Oxford Economics. “But there has … Read more
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) issued a consultation paper on the prudential treatment of banks’ cryptoasset exposures on June 10, in a bid to provide banks with a regulatory framework to deal with the fast-developing asset class. The move comes as policy-makers around the world take steps to control the largely unregulated market. China … Read more