Keywords:

“We’re ready with a lot of liquidity, funding, and understand the impact of a downgrade—not only on us but [on] the economy.”   
Vikram Pandit, CEO, Citigroup on a possible US sovereign downgrade, which Standard & Poor’s rates as 50:50 within the next three months, and possibly as early as this month.



The following are notes from our Monday morning meeting.


Deutsche Bank will take a dual-CEO structure next year with Anshu Jain and Jürgen Fitschen in the top jobs, but current boss Josef Ackermann will likely still call the shots from the wings as chairman.

HSBC will sell 195 US branches to First Niagara Bank for $1b.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved First City Monument Bank’s acquisition of Finbank, one of eight banks rescued by the regulator in 2009.

Bahrain and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference will in January 2012 launch Al-Emar Bank, an Islamic development bank with initial capital of $10b.
 
Korean private equity fund TStone is believed to be partnering with investment firm JC Flowers to buy the government’s 57% stake in Woori Finance, Korea’s largest financial holding company.

China's top banking regulator announced Sunday that it approved the establishment of a regional bank in Tibet with initial capital of of $232m; Bank of Communications will take a 20% stake.

Nguyen Van Binh, deputy governor of State Bank of Vietnam, will become governor when current head Nguyen Van Giau becomes chairman of the economic committee of the National Assembly next week.

Vichit Suraphongchai, executive chairman of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, will join Yingluck Shinawatra's new government, most likely as deputy PM for economic matters and finance minister.

India's Punjab National Bank is set to acquire 30% of MetLife India for an undisclosed sum as part of its expansion into insurance that saw it last year buying out its joint venture partners.
 
Australia’s NAB has withdrawn from bidding on 650 Lloyds branches in the UK as the $5.4b price was well beyond the $4.3b it valued the branches at.