News

HK Bankers will be scrambling all over smaller towns in China now that they are approved to open an unlimited number of sub-branches in China from October 1.

Crazy Chinese bank lending continues apace with news that three of China’s government-controlled banks have just lent over US$6 billion to an airline that lost $2 billion last year.

Moody's Investors Service has placed on review for possible downgrade various ratings of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

StanChart’s South East Asia CEO says the bank will want to "take a look at RBS" but says deal a long way off.

Sorry mates, but ANZ and NAB won’t be following the Commonwealth Bank which announced its CEO Ralph Norris will take a 10 percent pay cut whilst ordering his top ten execs to take a 5 percent pay cut.

ANZ branches are now in the north, centre, and south of mainland China after the China Banking Regulatory Commission allowed it to open a branch in Guangzhou.

The Islamic Bank of Asia launched its first Shariah-compliant liquidity product, which acts like a fixed deposit but is, of course, Sharia-compliant.

Communities around Petaling Street are getting richer, and Hong Leong Bank intends to corner this market.

Seriously. And for a bit more you can buy names, credit card details and even handphone numbers of senior business people, all stolen by bank employees and sold on the black market.

Bank Mandiri and Bank Central Asia both showed profit gains over the first quarter, but Bank Negara Indonesia was the standout with a 315 percent increase in profit to US$59 million.

Maybank became one of the best capitalised banks in Asia following the successful completion of its rights issue exercise on shares of Bursa Malaysia.

Sorry folks, but it's not the trading floor at Goldman Sachs. It is good news for India where the State Bank is looking to recruit 1300 staff next year as it grows to a $25 billion company.

Massive government-directed lending by China's top banks to roads and railroads risk repeating credit mistakes of 90's which cost $650 billion to clean up, warns Fitch.

Aussie ATM gas attacks up this year with six in the last three months alone as bandits find empty streets and cash-filled machines an easy target.

If you are Korean and broke, go elsewhere is the message, as Kookmin and Shinhan close 164 regular branches in favour of bigger “wealth centres” catering to upmarket clients.

Malaysia is set to overtake Singapore with the granting of an additional five licences to foreign banks by 2012 bringing the total to 18 compared to Singapore’s six Qualifying Full Banks.