Regional/ International

Goldman Sachs wants to acquire the remaining 55% stake of Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia, its joint venture in Australia and New Zealand. The stake is reported to be worth about $695 million.

The Spanish subsidiary of Barclays Bank has agreed to a capital increase amounting to about $858 million, in line with the Bank Spain’s requirements for lenders to have 8% core capital

Middle East

HSBC Kuwait has named Simon Vaughan Johnson, previously head of HSBC’s MENA Commercial Banking unit, as CEO. He will report to Simon Cooper, CEO of HSBC Middle East and North Africa.

Deutsche Bank has named Salah Jaidah as its new COO for Qatar as well the GM for the Qatar Financial Centre branch. He will also be vice chairman of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and have a seat on the MENA Executive Committee. Jaidah will report directly to Ashok Aram, CEO of the Middle East and North Africa region.

Indochina

The State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, has decided that Commercial Housing Bank of Mekong Delta will be converted into a state-owned liability limited company with a charter capital of $146 million.

CIMB has launched in Phnom Penh after receiving a license to fully operate a 100% owned subsidiary in Cambodia.

State Bank of Vietnam has allowed two branches of Lao-Viet Bank to increase their charter capital to $15 million from $3.75 million each.

Myanmar Economic Bank has launched quick-cash online banking services that allow customers to exchange cash using smart cards.

South Asia

Qamar Hussain has been appointed as president of the National Bank of Pakistan, succeeding Syed Ali Raza whose appointment was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as it did not follow the country’s laws.

 Ranjith Fernando, a director of Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon, has resigned due to a controversy arising from the appointment of government officials to positions in the boards of privately-owned banks.

The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, has given the Netherlands’ Rabobank a banking license to start banking operations in India. The bank will be setting up its first branch in Mumbai.

Australia

Australia’s Macquarie Group is appointing Stevan Vrcelj as Group Head Securities. Vrcelj was previously Head of Cash Equities.

NAB may team up with a partner, possibly NBNK Investments, to bid for the 600 branches that have been put up for sale by Llyods Banking Group. This will give NAB the option of exiting Britain’s banking scene, with NBNK paying for the Australian bank’s assets over time.

Bank of Baroda will be expanding its operations in New Zealand, opening two new branches in Auckland and in Wellington.

China

RBS has named Sherry Liu as its chairman and chief executive for its subsidiary in China. Liu was previously JP Morgan’s chairman for Chinese financial institutions and vice chairman for China.

Bank of China and China Construction Bank have confirmed that their businesses operating in Libya are not suffering any losses due to the ongoing political unrest in the country.

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will allow Hong Kong banks to keep unlimited funds in special yuan-denominated deposit accounts that will be maintained with the People’s Bank of China, as the HK regulator aims to reduce credit risk and encourage yuan deposit growth in the country.  

Hang Seng Bank has signed a MOU with China’s Industrial Bank to cooperate on a range of banking activities including credit facilities, asset management and private banking.

Indonesia

Government-owned Bank Mandiri will partner with French insurer ASA SA to take over Asuransi Dharma Bangsa, a local general insurance company. Bank Mandiri and ASA SA already jointly own AXA-Mandiri Financial Services, a life insurance company.

The Gunawan family, which owns Bank Panin, has reiterated that they have no plans to share a stake in the bank despite receiving several bids from offshore investors.

Japan

Bank of Japan will be offering loans totalling $11.7 billion to financial institutions whose business offices have been damaged by the March 11^th 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Sumitomo Trust and Chuo Mitsui have been merged to form Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings creating Japan's largest trust bank. The bank will focus on asset management, real estate brokerage and securitization as well as on sales of investment trusts.

Korea, South

The Financial Supervisory Service, the country’s financial regulator, is opposing Bank of Korea’s proposed revision of financial laws that will enable it to conduct independent investigations into financial institutions. Currently, the central bank can only conduct joint investigations with the financial regulator.

Woori Bank has raised $500 million through subordinated bonds. The cash raised will be used to repay the bank’s debts.

Malaysia

RHB Banking Group expects to complete its purchase of an 80% stake worth about $383 milliion in Indonesia’s Bank Mestika in the third quarter of the year.

SMBC will start operations in Malaysia on April 11^th 2011. The bank plans to offer a full range of banking services through its subsidiary in the country.

Bank Islam Malaysia has purchased an additional 8% stake in Sri Lanka’s first Islamic bank, Amana Bank, increasing its total stake to 20%.

OSK Investment Bank will be purchasing a controlling stake in Thailand’s BFIT Securities for about $33 million.

The Philippines 

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the country’s financial regulator, has issued new guidelines stating that investments in global peso bonds will not be included as part of the daily net foreign exchange position of Philippine-based banks.

Asia United Bank has asked permission from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to purchase shares worth $9.3 million in the Cooperative Bank of Cavite, with plans to convert the cooperative bank into a rural bank.

Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country’s financial regulator, is in discussions with the People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, to position Singapore as an offshore renminbi hub.

Japan’s Mizuho Securities has shut down its operations in Singapore, as the brokerage unit failed to attract clients despite investing heavily in staff and technology.

China’s CITIC Bank has officially opened its first branch in Singapore. The branch is currently offering wholesale banking and treasury services, and will venture into private banking next year.   

Taiwan

Government-owned Bank of Taiwan has signed an agreement with China’s ICBC to help foster ties and facilitate the exchange of information.

ANZ has completed its acquisition of RBS’ Taiwan operations, including ABN AMRO’s private banking business in Taiwan.

Thailand 

Malaysia’s CIMB Group has applied for a six-month extension of up to October 6^th 2011 to complete its proposed dual listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The bank was expected to complete its listing on April 6^th 2011.