BANKING NEWS FLASH September 17, 2014
Table of Contents Sales & Marketing ................................................................................................................. 3 Finance ................................................................................................................................. 7 Technology .......................................................................................................................... 10 Strategy .............................................................................................................................. 14
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Sales & Marketing TransCentra to offer wholesale, retail lockbox services to TCF National Bank September 04, 2014 | BBR http://payments.banking-business-review.com/news/transcentra-to-offer-wholesale-retaillockbox-services-to-tcf-national-bank-040914-4362008 TransCentra, a leading provider of billing and payment software and services, announced today that TCF National Bank, a leading Midwest-based bank, is moving to its single platform for retail and wholesale lockbox services. Two of its subsidiaries will also be using TransCentra's lockbox services. "TCF chose TransCentra based on its ability to provide functionality and flexibility that enables our customers to choose from multiple processing locations throughout the country and to select the most appropriate cut-off times to meet their business needs," said Betsy Rojas, senior vice president, Commercial Banking at TCF Bank. "In addition, TransCentra's Web portal provides our customers with customized reporting, robust search capabilities and Web decisioning." Lynn Boggs, TransCentra CEO, added, "By moving wholesale and retail private label lockbox services to TransCentra, TCF Bank receives a significantly enhanced treasury management portal while operating under its own branding. The bank is now able to provide customers additional service options through the portal. TCF Bank's customer service department will answer questions more efficiently since bank employees can now view the same information the customer is viewing in real time." TransCentra's bank clients have access to its consolidated wholesale and retail private label lockbox services through its nationwide network. These services, along with TransCentra's remote lockbox offering, consolidate paper check and electronic payments into a single data stream for processing, increasing the efficiency and reducing the costs of banks' corporate clients' billing and payments processes. The company operates nine lockbox sites across the United States.
Metro Bank launches new flexible solution for SMEs September 04, 2014 | BBR http://payments.banking-business-review.com/news/metro-bank-launches-new-flexible-solutionfor-smes-040914-4362027 Metro Bank, the bank for entrepreneurs, is today announcing a new partnership with card payment specialist, acceptcards速, a division of UPG plc. Metro Bank's business banking specialists will work closely with acceptcards to ensure that customers looking for a merchant services provider are able to find the best possible solution for their business.
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acceptcards, an independent broker of merchant services, reviews a range of payment services providers before presenting the customer with the best solution, based on their individual needs. Metro Bank business customers will also benefit from a dedicated point of contact at acceptcards, who will support them throughout the process. Richard Bradley, Director at acceptcards said: "We are thrilled to be working with Metro Bank and their customers. acceptcards was created with the sole purpose of offering UK businesses an alternative to the conventional, previously uncompetitive provision of merchant solutions. "Our service aims to provide every customer with a choice of innovative card payment solutions, underpinned by a superior customer experience - a proposition that fits perfectly with Metro Bank's pioneering plans to revolutionise UK banking. This is an exciting new era not only for Metro Bank and acceptcards, but for UK business banking in general." Paul Riseborough, Managing Director for Customer Propositions at Metro Bank commented: "At Metro Bank we're always looking for ways to make things even more convenient for our customers. We know that every business is unique, with different needs and different objectives, so we wanted to work with a partner that understood and supported a wide range of requirements. Our partnership with acceptcards will make the experience of finding a merchant services solution simple and convenient for our customers, and give them a comprehensive range of options to ensure they find the most suitable solution for their business." As a champion of small businesses, each Metro Bank store is run by a local bank manager able to make lending decisions on an individual case-by-case basis. SMEs also have their own relationship manager who understands their business and its needs, and can make use of Metro Bank SME Finance's cash management solutions. All these benefits can be enjoyed at a time that is convenient to businesses, with stores open early to late 7 days a week, a 24 hour call centre based in London run by people not machines, and full internet banking services
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management unveils Private Bank in Dallas September 03, 2014 | BBR http://www.banking-business-review.com/news/deutsche-asset-wealth-management-unveilsprivate-bank-in-dallas-030914-4360861 Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) announced today the opening of its Private Bank in Dallas and the hire of Mark LaRoe as a Managing Director and Head of the U.S. Private Bank in the Texas region. LaRoe reports to Chip Packard, Co-Head of Wealth Management and Head of the Private Bank in the Americas. DeAWM's Private Bank offers comprehensive and customized financial solutions to ultrahigh-net-worth individuals, families, and institutions. "We are thrilled for Mark to lead our office in Dallas, as he has a proven track record as a leader in both the private banking industry and within the local community," said Packard. "Mark will be critical in building upon our well established Private Client Services business and growing our new private banking business in Texas."
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With more than 30 years of industry experience, LaRoe joins from J.P. Morgan Private Bank, where he was a Managing Director for over 16 years. While at J.P. Morgan, Mark held a variety of positions including head of their Florida market and, most recently, as a Senior Managing Director of the Dallas team and member of the Market Leadership Teams for the DFW Metroplex and Oklahoma. Before J.P. Morgan, LaRoe spent most of his career as a banker for Comerica Bank in Dallas. He currently serves as a Trustee for the Dallas Museum of Art and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and is on the Board of Arlington Hall/Lee Park Conservancy. LaRoe is a graduate of Texas Tech University. Anthony Scotti has also joined the firm as a Vice President and Private Banker. Prior to DeAWM, Scotti was a Vice President at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Dallas, where he managed existing clients and developed new relationships throughout Texas. Prior to J.P. Morgan, Scotti was a relationship manager for Credit Suisse's Private Bank in Los Angeles. Scotti received a B.A., B.B.A., and M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University. "We believe our private bank offers a unique value proposition to its clients, as our platform seeks to deliver a boutique wealth management experience, while leveraging the vast resources of a global bank," said Jerry Miller, Head of DeAWM Americas. "We are committed to delivering just this in regions where we see a growing need for innovative and comprehensive wealth management capabilities." LaRoe and Scotti are two of DeAWM's latest hires in its push to expand its presence in the Americas. In July, DeAWM announced its expansion in Los Angeles, and late last year announced its growth in Latin America. The firm's focus on private banking is in line with the firm's 2015+ strategy, which includes significantly increasing relationships with ultra-high-net-worth clients and increasing relationship managers in key wealth markets over the next three years
Bank Muamalat, BLME sign MoU to offer private banking services in Malaysia September 03, 2014 | BBR http://retailbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/bank-muamalat-blme-sign-mou-to-offerprivate-banking-services-in-malaysia-030914-4360829 Malaysia’s Bank Muamalat has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME) to offer shariah-compliant private banking services in the country. Bank Muamalat plans to meet the growing demand for shariah compliant products in the region with the partnership. Under the deal, BLME will develop banking products and services including Islamic wealth management products and services for Malaysian market. Bank Muamalat CEO Datuk Haji Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid was quoted by CPI Financial as saying: "The signing of the MoU is the start of a joint venture for Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad and BLME to work towards the research and development of a viable business model that offers private banking services, products and solutions to domestic and cross-border clients in Malaysia. "Islamic wealth management is becoming more international in scope. Accordingly, this dynamic collaboration between BLME and Bank Muamalat is aimed at enhancing Islamic banking values through the development of a competitive Islamic Private Banking platform which will bridge the UK, Middle East and Asian Islamic financial markets."
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Currently, Malaysia accounts for 25% of global Islamic finance market, including 6% contribution from Bank Mualamat
Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking launches two specialist professional services in London September 03, 2014 | BBR http://commercialbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/lloyds-bank-commercial-bankinglaunches-two-specialist-professional-services-in-london-030914-4360915 Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has strengthened its support for SMEs across London with the launch of two specialist professional services and recruitment relationship teams. Designed to provide a higher quality of industry-specific support for firms across the capital, the move comes as part of a significant restructure within the bank's SME division, which has also seen the addition of several other new sector teams including media, technology and advertising; transport and construction; and hospitality and leisure. Led by Steve Hutton and Anna Bowles, the professional and recruitment services teams are also supported by 17 relationship managers, who collectively have more than 300 years of banking experience. The team will focus solely on acquiring and working with professional services and recruitment customers with a turnover of up to ÂŁ25 million, providing them with relevant and tailored guidance that is geared specifically to their industry. After recognising a growing customer demand for sector-specific knowledge and support, Lloyds Banking Group is one of the first UK banks to adopt the approach and will be bolstering its relationship managers' knowledge and experience through CPD courses. Paul Evans, area director in Central London, SME Banking, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: "This is a really exciting time for our SME teams across London, and hundreds of local businesses are set to benefit from an enhanced level of support as a result of the London restructure. We have a huge amount of experience and expertise that customers will be able to take advantage of and all our team members will undergo regular training in order to develop this even further. "Recognising and responding to the needs of our local business community is incredibly important to us. We're committed to helping British firms prosper and we understand that in order to do this, we need to provide them with access to relationship managers who have a deep understanding of their industry."
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Finance RBS launches IPO to sell 25% stake in Citizens Financial Group September 10, 2014 | BBR http://retailbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/rbs-launches-ipo-to-sell-25-stake-incitizens-financial-group-100914-4367169 The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has launched the initial public offering (IPO) to sell 25% stake or 140 million shares of its subsidiary Citizens Financial Group at a price of $23 and $25 per share, which could aggregate to $4bn. RBS also placed a 30-day over-allotment option to sell another 21 million shares of Citizens. Acquired by RBS in 1988, Citizens is valued at $13.1bn. It has around $130bn in assets, with more than 1,200 branches in 11 states across the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions in the US at the end of June this year. RBS CEO Ross McEwan said: "We announced our intention to undertake an IPO of Citizens in February 2013 and today's launch is an important milestone for both RBS and Citizens. "The planned divestment will significantly improve RBS's capital foundation and is a further important step in making RBS a strong and secure bank that continues to fully support the needs of its customers." The IPO will allow RBS to improve its capital base and concentrate on key domestic business. The bank will use the proceeds to repay some of the money spent on its bailout by the UK Government during the 2008 financial crisis
TSB Bank to invest ÂŁ250m in UK September 10, 2014 | BBR http://www.banking-business-review.com/news/tsb-bank-to-invest-250m-in-uk-100914-4367968 TSB Bank has announced its plans to invest ÂŁ250m to expand its services in the UK. The lender will use the capital to open up to 30 new branches, refurbish some branches, and improve its online and mobile banking services. The new branches are expected to be opened in the English Midlands and the South East, with the first branch to be ready in 2015. TSB's plan to establish new branches comes at a time when other banks have alreay closed 300 branches this year. TSB CEO Paul Pester said: "We're bucking the trend and opening instead of closing branches because we believe it's the right thing to do for our customers.
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"Whether our customers want face-to-face support for life's bigger decisions such as buying a home, or just to manage their money whilst on the move, we'll make sure they can do it how they want, when they want. "We're excited about bringing more new branches to Britain combined with an enhanced digital service offering more people the opportunity to benefit from Britain's challenger bank." Since September last year, TSB has refurbished 24 branches and another 231 are scheduled to be upgraded by the end of this year.
BB&T to buy Bank of Kentucky for $363m September 09, 2014 | BBR http://retailbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/bbt-to-buy-bank-of-kentucky-for-363m090914-4365540 North Carolina-based lender BB&T has signed a deal to buy The Bank of Kentucky (BOK) for approximately $363m to expand its presence in the Northern Kentucky / Cincinnati regions Established in 1990, BOK has around $1.858bn in assets and $1.6bn in deposits at the end of June this year. It offers banking and financial services to both individuals and business customers through 32 branches. BOK president and CEO Robert W Zapp said: "BB&T's expanded product offerings and resources will enable us to better serve our customers, employees and communities." The acquisition will allow BB&T to create a new banking region in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. BB&T chairman and CEO Kelly S King said: "We are very pleased to announce that regional president Andrew Hawking and retail and small business banking manager Mark Exterkamp will lead our new region in this important growth market. "We are developing exciting plans for additional banking center locations in the Greater Cincinnati area. Establishing this new banking region with such strong leadership is an important first step." As part of the deal, BOK's shareholders will get 1.0126 shares of BB&T common stock and $9.40 in cash for each share of BOK's common stock. The transaction is subject to approvals from regulatory and BoK shareholders' approval. The purchase of BOK is BB&T's first full-bank acquisition in nearly three years and comes a few days after it purchased Citigroup's 41 branches in Texas
Colombian banking group Grupo Aval expects $1.1bn from US IPO September 09, 2014 | BBR http://commercialbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/colombian-banking-group-grupoaval-expects-11bn-from-us-ipo-090914-4366209
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Colombia’s banking group Grupo Aval aims to raise $1.1bn from the initial public offering filed in the New York, US. According to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is offering 73.5 million American Depositary Receipts (ADR). Each ADR represents 20 preferred shares and is valued at $14.96. Part of the proceeds from the sale of ADR will be used by the bank to increase capital in its subsidiary, Banco de Bogota. Serfinco brokerage equity strategist Jose Restrepo was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: "The capital will allow Aval to take advantage of economic growth not only in Colombia but in Central America. "In Central America, you have growth in corporate lending, and in Colombia, the main opportunities are in housing and consumer loans." The lender has four commercial banks, a pension and severance fund manager, a merchant bank and BAC Credomatic banking group in Central America
Atlas Mara to buy 20.9% stake in Union Bank of Nigeria for $270m September 08, 2014 | BBR http://retailbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/atlas-mara-to-buy-209-stake-in-unionbank-of-nigeria-for-270m-080914-4364838 Atlas Mara Co-Nvest has agreed to buy approximately 20.9% stake in Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) from Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Amcon) for around $270m. Established in 1917, UBN is a publicly-traded bank that offers services through its 340 branches in Nigeria. It had assets of around $6.3bn at the end of June 2014. After completion of the transaction, Atlas Mara will own a total of 29.9% stake in UBN, which includes the shares already held by Atlas Mara through its ADC African Development division. Atlas Mara CEO John Vitalo said: "Expanding into Nigeria has been a focal point of our strategy and achieving a significant ownership position in an institution of the size, heritage and potential of UBN represents a unique opportunity. "We at Atlas Mara are committed to building a leading sub-Saharan African financial services group and we look forward to contributing to the transformation of UBN into a Tier 1 Nigerian bank as an integral part of this strategy." Atlas Mara co-founder and director Bob Diamond said: "We will have a significant stake in a key Nigerian bank and we will also have established strategic market positions in three of Africa's leading economic communities: the Southern Africa Development Community, the East Africa Community and Economic Community of West African States." The transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals
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Technology Barclays to use Hitachi’s finger vein authentication technology to secure bank accounts September 05, 2014 | BBR http://www.banking-business-review.com/news/barclays-to-use-hitachis-finger-veinauthentication-technology-to-secure-bank-accounts-050914-4362768 Barclays has partnered with Hitachi Europe to develop a biometric reader that uses finger vein authentication technology, VeinID, to secure bank accounts Customers need to scan their finger on the reader, which verifies their vein patterns and provides them access to their online bank accounts. The reader thus eliminates the need to enter personal identification number (PIN), passwords or other authentication codes, and prevents fraudulent access into bank accounts. Barclays personal and corporate banking CEO Ashok Vaswani said: "This solution is at the leading edge of innovation and is in direct response to client concerns about the threat of online fraud while making our customers' lives easier through its convenience." Hitachi's VeinID technology is already being used by banks for password replacement, single sign on and ATM machines in Japan, North America and Europe. However, the usage of vein biometric and digital signature technology in a combined state with the Barclays biometric reader is the first time in the industry, claims the company. Hitachi Services creation division president Koichi Nakai said: "In a world where cybercrime is on the rise, VeinID offers one of the industry's most advanced authentication technologies ensuring businesses and their customers can stay one step ahead of fraudsters." To avoid any fraudulent use of veins, the technology accepts the pattern only when the finger is attached to a human body, Barclays said. The new technology will be initially available for Barclays' corporate banking clients from 2015, with plans to expand its use in the bank's UK network
First Castle Federal Credit Union embraces mobile banking September 04, 2014 | BBR http://www.banking-business-review.com/news/first-castle-federal-credit-union-embracesmobile-banking-040914-4362034 First Castle Federal Credit Union recently took stock of how they were staying current with the mobile trends in banking and services that a tech savvy member would be looking for.
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Kirk Arnold, First Castle FCU CEO, said, "For the past 7 years the Northshore has been a new market for us and this community has welcomed us with open arms." FCFCU knew it was time to make another move to grow; but, instead of building a brick and mortar business, they asked themselves about their digital store front. First Castle FCU wanted to make sure they are impacting member growth, retention and relationships. As a result, the organization elected to enhance their digital banking and payment capabilities, adding enriched functionality for online and mobile banking and bill pay, in order to better serve their members and fuel growth in a very competitive market. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, First Castle Federal Credit Union serves about six thousand members. FCFCU has three branches and 25 employees, but compete on a daily basis with much larger entities. "In a challenging market, we see technology as a key differentiator. Like most financial institutions, we must continue to attract and retain members of all ages - especially the younger generation. We believe a commitment to innovation and delivery of an exceptional member experience will help us reach our goals for membership," said Arnold. FCFCU hopes to give members a seamless experience whether they use an online service or in the branch. Time is important to everyone. Pay bills, check balances, transfer funds - quickly and in the fewest number of steps is what First Castle looked for in choosing new online services. An Ambitious Plan In early 2014, the FCFCU organization set an ambitious one year plan to convert key digital banking services, including online and mobile banking and mobile check deposits (remote capture). They selected Mobiliti™ solutions from Fiserv for its Mobile Banking Application and Catalyst Corporate for its remote capture application. These digital banking solutions were chosen based on functionality, as well as their ability to integrate with our account processing platform from Fiserv. Also this year FCFCU digital banking efforts included personal financial management program, called Castle Connect. It has impressive tools and additional enhancements to the user experience but remains easy to use. As a whole, the new digital banking and payment services provide members with more control over their finances and the ability to conduct transactions using the channel that best suits their needs, resulting in greater member satisfaction and increased adoption of these capabilities. FCFCU is also hoping to see a significant drop in the number of service calls regarding bill pay issues and a sharp increase in e-Statement adoption. Winning Over a New Generation The new suite of digital solutions will make FCFCU stand out as a Credit Union, especially in this area. It is an incredible value-add for members. There are only a handful of financial institutions that offer the personal financial management tools FCFCU members now have access to, but those are usually the big chains and lack in the personal service that First Castle can offer
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First Trade bank to use Andera's app to enhance mobile account opening process September 04, 2014 | BBR http://www.banking-business-review.com/news/first-trade-bank-to-use-anderas-app-toenhance-mobile-account-opening-process-040914-4362225 First Trade Union Bank has partnered with Bottomline Technologies' Andera to reduce the extent of data entry in the mobile account opening process. First Trade bank customers can install the photo data capture feature of Andera-powered online account application to click an image of the barcode on their driving license or other supporting documents. This simplifies the account opening process as its cuts down the need to manually enter the data in the application form, Bottomline said. In addition to capturing documents, the application also supports esignature and electronic account funding functionality. Bottomline Technologies digital banking product strategy director Rijuta Jain said: "For financial institutions who are focused on growing their customer bases using digital channels, a fast and simple mobile account opening process is critical. "Cutting required data entry in half means that more applicants will complete the account opening process successfully. That's good news for applicants and great news for the banks and credit unions we serve. "Our photo data capture enhancement is just one of the ways we're working to leverage mobile device capabilities to simplify the account opening process." First Trade president and CEO Michael A Butler said: "We built a virtual banking product suite that includes paperless online account opening, a checking account with unlimited ATM rebates, a highyield savings account, intuitive online and mobile banking, and an innovative mobile payment app. "Adding the ability to quickly apply for an account from your mobile device complements our offerings and further strengthens our position as an innovative leader in banking."
Investec Bank deploys ClusterSeven's spreadsheet management software September 03, 2014 | BBR http://www.banking-business-review.com/news/investec-bank-deploys-clustersevensspreadsheet-management-software-030914-4360873 Investec Bank has become the latest bank to award a contract to data management and spreadsheet control specialist ClusterSeven.
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Investec has selected ClusterSeven's Enterprise Spreadsheet Management® (ESM) software to provide control for its key business spreadsheets and the data they manipulate. Investec is an international specialist bank and asset manager that provides a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia as well as certain other countries. The group was established in 1974. Investec focuses on delivering distinctive profitable solutions for its clients in three core areas of activity namely, Asset Management, Wealth & Investment and Specialist Banking. ClusterSeven's end-user computing management solutions enable financial services firms and other leading institutions to maintain the transparency and integrity of their spreadsheets and data files in order to increase productivity and business insight and to reduce operational risk. Bernard Fromson, Head of Analytics, Corporate and Institutional Banking at Investec, said: "In addition to improving the operational control and governance of our business spreadsheet activity, we are particularly interested in using ClusterSeven's software to explore new business trends through greater analysis of our financial data." Ralph Baxter, CEO of ClusterSeven, said: "We are delighted that Investec has selected us to enhance its business and data operations. Many high value and specialist business activities are dependent on spreadsheets to complement core systems. Increasing emphasis on risk management and data quality has exposed spreadsheet management as a major opportunity to reduce operational risk and deliver efficiencies."
Axis Bank launches Shopaholics online sale for credit and debit cardholders in India September 02, 2014 | BBR http://retailbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/axis-bank-launches-shopaholics-onlinesale-for-credit-and-debit-cardholders-in-india-020914-4359393 Axis Bank, India’s third largest private Bank, today announced the launch of its third season the ‘Shopaholics Online Festival’. The bank has tied up with 52 reputed online merchants across 8 different categories, to offer online flash sale exclusively for Axis Bank Credit & Debit Cardholders. The three-day festival will be underway from Tuesday, September 2, 2014. Offers will be available on a wide bouquet of categories namely Travel, Bill Payments & Recharge, Mobiles & electronics, Entertainment, Apparel & Accessories, Books Stationery & Gifts, Food & Groceries & Homes & Lifestyle. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jairam Sridharan, President, Consumer Lending and Payments said, "E-commerce spends on Axis Bank cards have grown over 100% year on year over the last couple of years. Since online shoppers are constantly on a lookout for the best deal, the Axis Bank Shopaholics Online Festival offers the deepest discounts at over 50 shopping sites, covering more than 10,000 brands."
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Strategy IDBI Bank opens new disaster recovery centre in Mumbai September 08, 2014 | BBR http://commercialbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/idbi-bank-opens-new-disasterrecovery-centre-in-mumbai-080914-4364287 IDBI Bank operationalized its Near DR Centre in Mumbai today, thereby joining a select list of banks who have established three-way DR. Shri M. S. Raghavan, CMD, IDBI Bank inaugurated the site in the presence of S/Shri B.K. Batra and M.O. Rego, DMDs and other senior officials of the Bank. As per laid out norms, the Primary Data Centre (DC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) Centre have to be housed in different seismic zones, for obvious reasons. While this provides the required redundancy, accepted Recovery Point Objective (RPO)/ Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of about 30 minutes entail a data loss in case of a 'failover'. This necessitates location of a Near DR Centre, with synchronous replication, which will enable zero data loss and instant 'switchover'. Speaking at the inauguration, Shri Raghavan affirmed "after implementation of the Near DR site, the data would be captured first at the Near DR site followed by DC and then DR site, thereby guaranteeing 100% synchronization or availability of the transactional data. This will ensure zero data loss for critical transactions, thereby helping to quell reputation risk and enhance stakeholder confidence."
Sumitomo Mitsui to increase stake in Bank of East Asia to 17.5% September 08, 2014 | BBR http://retailbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/sumitomo-mitsui-to-increase-stake-inbank-of-east-asia-to-175-080914-4364299 Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (SMBC) has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to raise its stake in Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia (BEA) from the current 9.6% to 17.5% in a deal valued at $950m Under the deal, SMBC will buy 222 million new shares of BEA through private placements. Weak loan demand and low interest rates in Japan have made the lender look for business expansion in other Asian countries. The deal, which is subject to certain regulatory approvals, will allow SMBC to offer increased services to Japanese clients in Hong Kong through BEA's 120 branches in mainland China.
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Currently, SMBC has around 16 branches in the country. In addition to SMBC, the BEA is 17.05% owned by Spain's CaixaBank, 15% by Guoco Group and other stakeholders. The latest deal comes approximately two years after SMBC invested $426m to almost double its stake in BEA from 4.73% to 9.5% by buying 111.57 million new shares.
Citibank to sell 41 branches in Texas to BB&T September 04, 2014 | BBR http://www.banking-business-review.com/news/citibank-to-sell-41-branches-in-texas-to-bbt040914-4361533 American multinational banking and financial services firm Citigroup has agreed to sell 41 branches in Texas to BB&T, to focus on areas such as digital banking that have higher growth potential. The sale includes Citibank's retail branches in Dallas, Houston, Midland and Odessa, with $2.3bn in deposits and $87m in loans. Citigroup spokesman said in a statement: "Our branch footprint in Texas did not provide the scale to capture future growth and market share in traditional retail banking. "We see the retail banking industry rapidly evolving beyond a purely branch-based model, and so we will dedicate our resources and investments on a more focused branch footprint in our major urban markets and on expanding our digital channels nationally." In June, BB&T purchased Citibank's 21 branches in the Austin, Bryan-College Station and San Antonio markets. It acquired $1.2bn in deposits and $134m in loans. BB&T chairman and CEO Kelly S King said: "Our previous 21-branch acquisition from Citibank has already proven to be a cultural fit, and we are excited to extend the BB&T brand to these individuals and our presence in these fast-growing strategically important markets." After the completion of the sale, which is expected to happen in the early 2015, BB&T will have around 123 branches and $5.3bn of deposits in Texas
Barclays completes sale of UAE retail banking business to ADIB September 03, 2014 | BBR http://retailbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/barclays-completes-sale-of-uae-retailbanking-business-to-adib-030914-4360057 British banking and financial services company Barclays has completed the sale of its retail banking business in UAE to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) for approximately AED650m ($176.9m) Signed in April, the deal, was part of Barclay's strategy to focus on key growth areas without affecting its existing customer base.
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Barclays Middle East and North Africa CEO John Vitalo previously said: "The decision to exit the UAE retail banking space, while not taken lightly, allows us to focus on our businesses in corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management. Following the completion of acquisition, ADIB will move more than 110,000 customers of Barclays its banking platform. Barclays' 145 employees will continue to work from their existing branches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Post transition, ADIB will have 85 branches, 660 ATMs, internet and mobile banking platforms, two call centres and over 700,000 customers. Earlier this week, Barclays announced the sale of its Spanish retail assets to CaixaBank for â‚Ź800m
Reliance Capital to partner with Nippon Life to set up new bank in India September 02, 2014 | BBR http://commercialbanking.banking-business-review.com/news/reliance-capital-to-partner-withnippon-life-to-set-up-new-bank-in-india-020914-4358642 Reliance Capital, a part of the conglomerate Reliance Group, will collaborate with Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance to establish a new Reliance Bank in India The companies are seeking approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Nippon Life Insurance (NLI) president Yoshinobu Tsutsui said: "Reliance Capital is planning to set up its own bank which will cater to individual customers and small and medium enterprises all over India. "NLI is also participating in this bank project as part of strategic business alliance with a view to improve the financial infrastructure and contribute towards economic growth of India." The announcement came during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to Japan. Tsutsui and Reliance Group managing director Amitabh Jhunjhunwala said in a joint statement that the need for bank loans in India is increasing while bank deposits are becoming popular due to economic growth and the rise of the middle income class. "The Indian Government, through the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India, proposes to issue guidelines that will allow private corporations to establish various kind of banks so that the spread of the fundamental financial services in rural areas, through the financial inclusion mission, can be achieved." Meanwhile, NLI's Nissay Asset Management and Reliance Capital Asset Management have launched two new mutual funds, short-term Indian bond fund and India equity selection fund, for Japanese retail investors
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