Asian Banking & Finance (January - March 2023)

Page 16

VOX POP

How will the FTX collapse affect the cryptocurrency industry? CRYPTOCURRENCY

Analyst Moody’s Investors Service This crisis will have long-lasting effects on the crypto industry. Falling crypto asset prices will restrict businesses’ ability to raise funds and depress customer demand. Lower crypto asset valuations will restrict businesses’ ability to issue tokens to finance their expansion, constraining the industry’s future earnings. Falling asset prices will also depress demand for crypto services. The Bank of International Settlements estimates that 73%-81% of crypto investors have likely lost money on their investment as of November 2022. These factors will deteriorate the credit quality of CeFi companies and intermediaries managing their customers’ crypto transactions. DeFi applications, financial platforms allowing participants to interact without intermediaries will also feel the effects of FTX’s demise despite being more transparent. We anticipate that financing will continue to decline in the upcoming quarters.

Joshua Foo Regional Director, ASEAN and Central Asia, Chainalysis The impact of FTX’s collapse is significant, and many people will be directly and indirectly affected by these failures, the full details of which will only be fully known in the weeks and months to come. Our sympathies lie with them. What happened at FTX was not a failure of the crypto or blockchain ecosystem, but of a single organisation that acted irresponsibly and lacked transparency in its actions. Similar scenarios have happened across various industries - including in technology and financial services - and will likely happen again. The industry has an opportunity and responsibility to take stock of its values and advocate for a better, safer ecosystem that paves the way to new models of ownership. Together with regulators, we can capitalise on blockchain’s inherent transparency and help address issues that the traditional financial system cannot solve.

PRODUCT WATCH

Standard Chartered unveils funds based on its CIO’s views

S

tandard Chartered Bank has unveiled the Signature CIO Funds based on views released by its chief investment office, led by its CIO Steve Brice. For a minimum investment amount of S$1,000, retail investors can have access to four global diversified multi-asset fund portfolios – Signature CIO Income Fund, Signature CIO Conservative Fund, Signature CIO Balanced Fund and Signature CIO Growth Fund. These cater to different investment objectives and risk profiles. “Our Signature CIO Funds, backed by the CIO views, help investors avoid behavioural biases such as ‘analysis paralysis’ or excessive trading which may be detrimental to long-term investment returns,” Brice said, commenting on the launch of the funds.

14 ASIAN BANKING & FINANCE | Q1 2023

For example, Signature CIO Income Fund is designed for investors to generate a regular income, allocating 53% of its portfolio to fixed income, 34% to equities, 1% to cash, 9% to hybrids, and 3% to REITs and infrastructure. Standard Chartered developed the funds alongside asset manager Amundi. It leverages Amundi’s institutional relationships and direct pricing from market makers, allowing for optimal implementation, with the flexibility to choose between active and passive investments. Retail investors can now subscribe to the funds through their relationship managers. Subscription on SC online website and SC Mobile Banking App will be available from 17 February onwards.

Adrian Przelozny CEO and Co-founder, Independent Reserve, Singapore History is cyclical and has shown its tendency to repeat itself. Like the traditional banking industry, the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry is going through its rite of passage, with some inroads to make before it reaches the trust levels of banking. Here at Independent Reserve, we believe that the recent setbacks, FTX’s insolvency, and the Terra Luna collapse are watershed moments that can positively shape the industry’s future. Events such as these, albeit painful, would mean that the market will eventually converge and consolidate in the longer run, weeding out the bad players as institutions and retail customers demand stronger regulatory oversight and for exchanges to be more professional in their business conduct. To safeguard consumer interest, regulators need to steer exchanges to exercise greater agency over their operations and risk controls to ensure that the right level of risk in place.


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Articles inside

OPINION PAT PATEL Economic lifeline: The coming together of fintech leaders in driving growth amid crisis

3min
pages 50-51

Steering a bank through geopolitical rapids DEREK LEATHERDALE

3min
pages 48-49

Paywatch enables early salary withdrawal for Malaysians

2min
pages 47-48

CASE STUDY 1: DBS CARD LOANS DBS HK introduces fully digital card loans for instant cash

2min
page 46

AI adoption in the banking sector is not a ‘race’ but a question of trust: HSBC

2min
page 44

EVENT COVERAGE: SFF PANEL 2 Intent vs ability: Ghana’s Kwame Oppong on why banks should shift lending models

2min
page 42

Better rates, lower fees will not be enough for digital banks to make a profit

5min
pages 40-41

EVENT COVERAGE: SINGAPORE FINTECH FESTIVAL

1min
page 39

EVENT COVERAGE: SINGAPORE FINTECH FESTIVAL Tokenised assets, stable coins central to Singapore’s crypto hub ambitions

2min
page 38

ANALYSIS: DIGITAL ADVISORY

2min
page 37

Why a hybrid platform is key to banks’ digital advisory woes

2min
pages 36-37

SECTOR REPORT: CARDS & PAYMENTS Meaningful experiences, wellness as key pillars of the return of travel: Mastercard

2min
page 34

BNPL regulations toughen debt prevention and financial literacy in Asia Pacific

4min
pages 32-33

Why the universal banking model is no longer sustainable in modern-day banking

6min
pages 30-31

REPORT: UNIVERSAL BANKING MODEL

2min
page 29

REPORT: UNIVERSAL BANKING MODEL Retail banks must operate like tech firms to thrive

3min
pages 28-29

SECTOR REPORT: CARDS & PAYMENTS

1min
page 27

Real-time cross-border payments edge closer to reality with ISO 20022

3min
pages 26-27

French fintechs tap into Asia’s booming market

3min
pages 24-25

INTERVIEW How GCash cornered the Philippines’ sachet economy with SMS-based remittance service

4min
pages 22-23

BANKING OUTLOOK: APAC APAC banking industry outlook by market

1min
page 21

Inflation, weak economies to erode Asia Pacific banks’ buffers in 2023

3min
pages 20-21

BRANCH WATCH 2: CITI HONG KONG Citi entices Hong Kong’s ultra-wealthy with first-ever Global Wealth Centre

1min
page 19

BRANCH WATCH 1: HSBC SINGAPORE HSBC Singapore’s new head office embraces hybrid ways of working

1min
page 18

How will the FTX collapse affect the cryptocurrency industry?

2min
page 16

Only 1 in 10 of banks’ energy financing deals went to renewables

2min
page 15

Revised license and laxer listing rules to rock Hong Kong fintechs

2min
page 14

P2P lending in regulatory shake-up

1min
pages 12-13

Loan demand to recover, but China’s banks still need to buff loss cushion

3min
pages 10-12

BTN’s housing loan innovation a big hit amongst millennials

3min
page 8

Daily news from Asia

1min
page 6
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