Keywords: Citigroup, Fannie Mae, EU, South African Reserve Bank, Ali Sherif Al-Emadi, FSS South Korea, Lloyds, BOS International

"We've seen the story before."
Piyush Gupta, CEO of Singapore's DBS, stressing that US Fed QE3 tapering will not overly affect Asia.

The following are notes from our Monday morning meeting.

Citigroup will pay Fannie Mae $968m over faulty mortgage sales to the latter, with the settlement to resolve future claims on 3.7m home loans originating from 2000-2012.

Foreign direct investment into the EU fell to $211b in 2012, a 30% YoY drop as investor confidence toward the region’s economy remained weak.

South Africa Reserve Bank found unsecured lending by the country’s six largest commercial banks up by 37.5% to $44b in 2012 due to increase in credit cards, personal loans, and overdrafts.

Former Qatar National Bank CEO Ali Sherif al-Emadi was appointed the country’s finance minister

FSS South Korea reported average annual income of board members at financial institutions amounted to $408,900 per person in 2012, down 5% YoY, as profitability dropped.

Asian Banker Research found the number of ATMs in China rose at a CAGR of 26.4% over the past six years to total 415,600 in 2012, as banks sough to meet customer cash transaction demands. Click here for more.

Cambodia's credit and debit card volume grew at a CAGR of 24.8% to 1.3m in 2012, due to changing spending patterns and advancements in e-banking services.

Asian Banker Research found the number of banks in the Philippines dropped to 696 in 2012, a 4% YoY decline, owing to consolidation and bank closures. Click here for more.

Asian Banker Research found debit card volume in India totalled 278m in FY2012, growing at a CAGR of 30% from FY2007, as banks combined savings account openings with debit card issuance. Click here for more.

Lloyds’ Australia subsidiary BOS International will sell its portfolio of property and corporate loans valued at $684m.