Regional/ International

JPMorgan’s trading loss could reach $9 billion, compared to an earlier loss announcement of $2 billion. The loss is related to a bungled credit-derivatives trade.

European leaders are pushing for a banking levy to finance a common deposit insurance scheme, a bank resolution fund and joint supervision authority. These measures are to be discussed at the European Council meeting later this week.

Barclays has agreed to pay $200 million to the U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission, $160 million to the Justice Department and £59.5 million to the UK's FSA in fines for the bank’s manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).

Middle East

Turkey’s BDDK, the country’s financial regulator, has reportedly received bank license applications from three Iranian banks, including Bank Pasargad and Bank Tejerat. However, the applications will likely not succeed in view of Iran’s global isolation.

National Bank of Kuwait has received its board’s backing regarding a planned takeover of Boubyan Bank that is worth $2.1 billion.

Oman's BankMuscat is planning to raise up to $251 million from selling shares to fund its credit growth and offer Islamic financial services.

Indochina

Vietnam’s TienPhongBank has allocated $144 million to provide low-interest loans for enterprises. Each customer will be allowed to borrow up to $48,000 at the preferential interest rates.

The State Bank of Vietnam has released data showing that the banking system's bad debt has now reached 10% of its total loans, accounting for 92.1% of combined equity.

Central Bank of Myanmar has given permission to the United Bank of India to set up a representative office in Yangon.

South Asia

Faysal Bank, Bank Alflaha, Habib Bank and NIB Bank are reportedly in the running to acquire Citibank’s Pakistani consumer banking portfolio.

Bangladesh Bank, the country’s central bank, is going to re-introduce the system of government treasury bonds for primary dealer banks, which will help boost government debt management and secondary market of long-term bonds and securities.

Government-owned Bank of Ceylon is seeking up to $150 million to expand its operations overseas.

Australia/New Zealand

Westpac will paying an additional tax of $165 million on its results for 2011/2012 as a result of changes to the taxation of financial arrangements. However, the amount will be paid between now and 2014.

National Australia Bank has appointed Spiro Pappas as head of its Asian unit, replacing Rob Wright. Pappas was previously head of institutional banking at the bank.

China

China’s CBRC and Banco Central do Brasil have signed an agreement to facilitate the exchange of information and enhance cooperation on banking supervision.

Monetary Authority of Singapore will be setting up a representative office in China, a move that will help boost economic and trade relations between the two central banks.

People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, has warned financial institutions against charging excessive fees and failing to sufficiently disclose the risk accompanying wealth management products.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the country’s financial regulator, has established a repo facility available to local banks that conduct business using renminbi and are facing problems with liquidity. The facility will provide repo contracts to local lending institutions in exchange for collateral in the form of various debt-based instruments.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed former UBS Bank executive David Gray to build its prime services operations in Asia Pacific. Fray will head the newly created rile and build a team to provide trade clearing service and hedge fund-lending in the region.

Indonesia

Malaysia’s CIMB Group chief executive Nazir Razak has said that the banking entity plans to be the first organisation legally incorporated outside Indonesia, to be listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange, although under existing Indonesian regulation, such companies are not allowed to do so.

Bank Jabar plans to buy a majority stake in 51 rural banks this year to tap the potential of small and micro businesses, with aims to become a one-stop financial services banks by expanding into sharia banking, multi-finance and insurance.

The House of Representatives’ Commission XI has selected Bank Indonesia deputy governor Muliaman Hadad to be chairman of Indonesia’s first Financial Services Authority, to be known as Otoritas Jasa Keuangan.

Japan

Banks including Mistsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings have agreed to continue offering $630 million in lines of credit to troubled Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics as it tries to revive business after sustaining losses in the face of increased overseas competition.

Nomura has appointed Daniel Mamadou as its head of global finance for Asia outside Japan. Mamadou will report to Mark Williams, head of investment banking for Asia outside Japan, and Philippe Dufournier, head of global finance.

Japan’s Ministry of Finance has stated that the government’s sale of shares in Japan Tobacco will be handled by JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities and Mizuho Securities, with the offering expected to raise up to $6 billion.

Korea, South

Cardif in Korea, a subsidiary insurance arm of BNP Paribas Cardif has named current deputy chief executive officer Jean Christophe Darbes as its new incoming chief executive officer, succeeding Herve Giraudon.

The Financial Supervisory Service of Korea has introduced a new ATM cash withdrawal system as part of efforts to counter voice phishing, whereby swindlers pretend to be trustworthy individuals in telephone or online communication to obtain money transfers and then withdraw the money within minutes of it being wired.

The Korea Exchange Bank has said that it will carry out a large-scale organisational change to streamline operations and create synergy between business units, in a bid to escape stagnant growth experienced under former owner Lone Star Funds.

Malaysia

SME Bank is working with Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) to help its customers make timelier monthly payments after both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate a payment gateway which would enable SME Bank to tap BSN’s branches throughout the country.

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia has introduced the Collateralised Commodity Murabahah-i as a new instrument for its treasury use and will utilise it in managing daily market transactions.

Bank Mualamat and Pos Malaysia will team up to undertake the Islamic pawn broking business, Ar-Rahnu. The collaboration will enhance the product offering at Pos Malaysia outlets and provides an alternative to distribute micro credit convenience to small-time entrepreneurs who face difficulty obtaining bank financing.

The Philippines

Party-list representative Arnel Ty has called on the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries to determine the adequacy of Philippine banking laws after 41 banks were closed in the past 18 months, affecting more than 547,000 depositors and displacing at least 2,000 bank employees.

The provincial government of South Cotabato has teamed up with the state-owned Philippine Veteran’s Bank to upgrade its real property tax assessment and collection systems, in a bid to improve local tax collections.

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation has reported that six commercial banks, including BDO Unibank, have expressed their interest to bid for the Export & Industry Bank, which the regulator closed due to insolvency.

Singapore

Citibank Singapore now offers customers the ability to deactivate and reactivate a credit card on the spot, as well as the option to specify a time period to activate overseas transactions for ATM and debit cards.

Trading firm Gunvor Singapore has signed a $635 million syndicated revolving credit facility (RCF) with a total of 28 banks in the Asia Pacific region, with proceeds of the RCF to be used to refinance existing debt and finance general and working capital requirements of the company.

DBS Bank has launched the DBS Rewards mobile application, enabling cardholders to instantly redeem rewards through their mobile phones. Customers can also track their rewards usage and use the built-in augmented reality feature to search for nearby participating DBS merchants for instant redemption.

Taiwan

Lawmakers have identified malpractice among several Taiwan banks who delay depositing funds into customers’ accounts to save paying interests amounting to $434,000 per year. Such banks do not pay interest for funds deposited or transferred outside office hours and delay the accounting until the next working day, with no interest paid during the interval.

The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has moved to address concerns over the risk management procedures of Taiwanese banks by announcing stricter lending terms for luxury residential properties on the island. Effective immediately, mortgages for properties valued at $2.7 million and above will be subject to a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 60%.

Hua Nan Financial Holdings has said that it is targeting a 20% stake in China’s Fujian Haixia bank in an acquisition deal and hopes to be the largest foreign investor in the institution, with plans to secure seats on the board of directors and assign a representative to serve as governor of the bank.

Thailand

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) has denied reports linking the bank with negotiations with the Ministry of Finance to swap its shares with those of TMB Bank, in which the ministry owns a 26.1% stake. SCB has dismissed the speculation and informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that it had no plans to purchase TMB Bank shares.

The Bank of Thailand has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to establish a cross-border collateral arrangement that will help maintain financial stability in both countries while reinforcing trade, investment and financial relationships between Thailand and Singapore.

Citi Advance, a non-bank arm of Citicorp Leasing Thailand under Citibank, aims to strengthen the entity’s consumer finance business by adding four new outlets, increasing its number of branches to 50 this year.