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“They have got an awful combination of arrogance and incompetence; most of them couldn't negotiate their way out of a paper bag.”
Lord Oakeschott, the former spokesperson for the UK Treasury, on the Project Merlin deal with banks on bonuses and lending he called a “pitiful” government compromise; he resigned over his comments.

The following are notes from our Monday morning meeting.

The announcement of exchange mergers between LSE and TMX, and Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, increase the likelihood of regulatory approval of the SGX/ASX tie-up.

Anglo Irish Banks lost $24b in 2010 on loans to property developers that went bad; it will be merged with Irish Nationwide to form a 100% state-owned bank.

Egypt will keep its banks closed today after strikers from state banks protesting low wages and nepotism forced Tarek Amer, chairman of National Bank of Egypt, to resign.
 
Qatar Central Bank’s order that conventional lenders halt Islamic operations by the end of 2011 to avoid risks from the co-mingling of two sorts of assets and liabilities will be a boon for Islamic banks.

Korea’s Shinhan Financial’s short-list of four candidates to replace disgraced chairman Ra Eung-chan is believed to include former CEO Choi Young-hwi, ousted by Ra in 2005.

Agricultural Bank of China will for $393m buy 51% of Jiahe Life Insurance; it is the last of the country’s five biggest banks to get into the business.

Thailand’s Land and Houses Retail Bank was upgraded to a commercial bank after it raised its Tier 1 capital; it will be seek an IPO in Q2.

Amana Bank got regulatory approval to become Sri Lanka’s first Islamic commercial lender.
 
Australia’s NAB, which dropped exit fees for mortgages, will start paying those of customers of market leaders Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac if they switch.