Regional/ international

Britain’s Barclays will reportedly spin-off Barclays Private Equity (BPE), its private equity arm to the managers of the fund in return for a share of future profits .The buyout may not be completed until its latest fund closes sometime next year. Barclays joins others in retreating from private equity as regulators clamp down on banks' involvement in higher-risk businesses.

Carol Sergeant, chief risk officer at UK’s Lloyds Banking Group will leave her post in January. She is considered a strong candidate to head one of the organisations that will be created from the break-up of the Financial Services Authority.

Spain’s BBVA signed a yuan trade settlement agreement with China Citic Bank to offer yuan transaction services to Latin American corporate customers that trade with Chinese firms.

Middle East

The UAE’s central bank unveiled new accounting rules for bad that require banks to book provisions covering non-performing loans every quarter instead of waiting until the end of the year, and standardise accounting definitions for when debts are impaired.

China’s ICBC has opened in Abu Dhabi its third Middle East Branch.

Indochina

Vietnam's central bank has stopped banks selling gold deposited by customers to use the funds for loans or for converting into foreign currencies, on concerns over possible bank losses if the value of gold continues to soar. It also bans banks from lending gold for producing and trading small gold bars, but banks can lend gold only for producing and trading jewelery.

Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia is reportedly ready to buy a 15% stake in Vietnam Joint-Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, Vietnam's second biggest lender, in a deal that would be worth about $221 million.

The Cambodian unit of Malaysia’s Public Bank has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, CampuBank Securities after obtaining a securities company licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia. This enables the unit to carry out securities underwriting business, securities dealing business, securities brokerage business and investment advisory business.

South Asia

State Bank of India wants acquire a bank in Indonesia and has reportedly set aside more than $100 million for the purchase.

India’s sate owned Canara Bank will launch 105 branches and ATMs each, across the country on November 19, to commemorate the bank's 105th year of service.

YES Bank is seeking central bank approval to open a branch in Bahrain.

Australia/New Zealand

Australian banks are coming under heavy criticism for raising their lending rates higher than the November 2^nd central bank rate hike of 25 basis points. ANZ raised its variable mortgage rate 39bps, Commonwealth Bank of Australia 45bps,

Australian banks disclosed their CEO salaries: ANZ’s Mike Smith earned $10.9, Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Ralph Norris earned $16.2m, NAB’s Cameron Clyne earned $7.72m, while Westpac’s Gail Kelly earned $9.58m.

Ten senior managers of St George Bank are bringing a class action suit against Westpac, claiming that they had been offered retention bonuses if they hit an 8-10% growth target, which they did; instead, they were retrenched, with compensation packages reputedly based on their salaries.

China

Bank of East Asia completed in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region the first settlement for yuan overseas direct investment since the trial was launched in October.

Citigroup opened a branch in Guiyang in Guizhou Province to expand its network in China. The New York-based lender is the first overseas bank to enter southwest China.

The Bank of Shanghai opened its small- and medium-sized enterprises financial services center to ride on the rising financing demand of the small business.

The government of Guangzhou is selling a 30% stake in Bank of Guangzhou to Chinese investors, while France’s Groupe BPCE and Canada’s Scotiabank are believed to be bidding for a 20% stake, worth $650m-$850m.

Hong Kong

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit opened the bank's largest branch in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. The multi-story branch offers a full range of banking services and houses banking centres for the bank's different segments.

Indonesia

Bank Indonesia and the Indonesian Payment System Association (ASPI) will prioritize the standardisation of prepaid transactions by 2011. Among prepaid transaction services provided by banks are debit and toll payment cards, pre-paid cards are currently only offered by two banks, Bank Mandiri and Bank Central Asia.

Japan

RBS has signed an MOU with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ for the sale of a $6 billion project finance assets that include power, infrastructure, and oil and gas assets I the UK, EMEA, APAC and the Middle East.

Mizuho will buy a 2% stake in asset manager BlackRock from Bank of America for $500 million, allowing it to distribute BlackRock products in Japan, and use it to manage investments.

Shinsei will buy back $1.1 billion of preferred shares to boost its capital ratio.

Korea, South

Hana Financial Group has emerged as a new bidder for Lone Star Holdings’ 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank, which ANZ has spent several months conducting due diligence on.

Officials from the Seoul Central Regional Prosecutor’s Office have examined documents at Woori Bank and Korea Development Bank in an investigation over possible fraudulent loans given to Sekwang Group’s shipbuilding subsidiary.

The financial regulator and the stock market are investigating Deutsche Bank, claiming the bank made a huge profit when it instigated a the exchange’s largest-ever selloff, causing a plunge in the local stock index.

Malaysia

The central bank gave its approval to the joint application filed by Public Bank, Public Islamic Bank, and ING Management Holdings for a family takaful license. The three companies will set up a JV to run this business, in which ING will hold a stake of 60%, while PBB and PIBB will own 20% each.

Alliance Bank will set up a subsidiary with AIA to carry out family takaful business and is expected to begin operation in the first quarter of 2011.

Philippines

The central bank has increased the minimum capital requirements for rural banks and simplified grouping of cities and municipalities, believing that their existing minimum capital requirement are no longer enough to sustain competitive and robust banks.

Singapore

DBS raised S$800 million via a preference share offer. The offer size was increased from an original S$500 million announced at the offer launch last week.

DBS opened its first branch in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, with an initial registered capital of $15 million.

OCBC shareholders have approved the merger of Bank OCBC Indonesia and Bank OCBC NISP, the bank’s two Indonesian subsidiaries.

Taiwan

Fubon Financial Holding Co, Taiwan’s second-largest financial services provider by assets, wants to bid for Nan Shan Life Insurance after its US parent AIG last week made known its intention to divest itself the Taiwan unit within 12 months.

Thailand

While the central bank imposed measures to limit housing loans due to the overheating property market, Krung Thai Bank announced it will scrutinise loans provided to hotel and property businesses more closely as a result of risk factors from natural disasters and fears of a property bubble.