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ASEAN * KASIKORNBANK PCL expects credit growth to be between 4% to 6% in 2017, with the bank setting aside about 5 billion Thai baht for IT-related development projects, Krungthep Turakij reported. * Financial Services Authority Chairman Muliaman Hadad said he was optimistic that banks' nonperforming loan ratio would continue to decrease as the country's economy improved, Indonesia's Antara News Agency reported. * The Monetary Authority of Singapore is urging banks to maintain strong nonperforming loan provisions and keep sound credit underwriting standards to counter a possibly long economic slowdown, Reuters reported. * Security Bank Corp. said it is converting unit Security Bank Savings Corp. into a finance company.
* Sipadan Investments (Mauritius) Ltd., a unit of Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional Bhd., will sell most of its 2.67% stake in IDFC Bank Ltd. for an expected price of 5.5 billion Indian rupees, The Economic Times reported, citing two people familiar with the deal.
* Chicago Stock Exchange Inc. said a multinational investor group led by China's Chongqing Casin Enterprise Group will acquire the U.S-based bourse, Caixin reported. The deal is subject to approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
* Korea Development Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia's PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero) to set up an office in Jakarta and collaborate on project financing and syndicated loans, The Korea Herald reported.
* Expanding further into the ASEAN region, KASIKORNBANK PCL plans to open its second branch in Laos in 2017 as well as open branches in Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia in 2018, Reuters reported, citing Kattiya Indaravijaya, president of the bank.
GREATER CHINA
* The People's Bank of China said it did not ask commercial banks to suspend the issuance of personal home loans, sina.com.cn reported. Some Chinese cities have further tightened real estate purchase regulations and raised the down-payment percentage required for home purchases.
* China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange will require overseas transfers of US$5 million or more under capital accounts as portfolio or direct investments to be reported, Reuters reported, citing sources with knowledge of the new rules. Previously, the minimum threshold was US$50 million.
* The Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission approved Fujian Huatong Bank to be set up in the free trade zone in Fujian province, China, becoming the first private bank to be set up in the province, Caixin reported.
* Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission said that when banks handle cross-border remittance transactions worth more than NT$30,000 they should adopt anti-fraud measures including Know Your Customer, an identification process, starting January 2017, the United Daily News reported. The FSC also ruled that starting April 1, 2017, banks should set up units that specialize in anti-money laundering.
JAPAN AND KOREA
* Tochigi Bank Ltd. will increase its sales workforce by 100 to 150 employees through March 2020 as part of efforts to become more competitive in the Japanese lending sector, The Nikkei reported.
* Bank of Yokohama Ltd. began rolling out ATMs compatible with foreign credit and debit cards in an effort to better accommodate the banking needs of foreigners visiting Japan, The Nikkei reported.
* South Korea's financial regulators will raise their lending regulation of savings banks to the level of commercial banks, The Chosun Ilbo reported. Criteria for overdue loans and provisioning rules will be strengthened in the first quarter of 2017.
* Daishin Securities Co. Ltd. combined its wholesale business and trading divisions as part of an internal reorganization, Yonhap News Agency reported.
ASEAN
* KASIKORNBANK PCL expects credit growth to be between 4% to 6% in 2017, with the bank setting aside about 5 billion Thai baht for IT-related development projects, Krungthep Turakij reported.
* Financial Services Authority Chairman Muliaman Hadad said he was optimistic that banks' nonperforming loan ratio would continue to decrease as the country's economy improved, Indonesia's Antara News Agency reported.
* The Monetary Authority of Singapore is urging banks to maintain strong nonperforming loan provisions and keep sound credit underwriting standards to counter a possibly long economic slowdown, Reuters reported.
* Security Bank Corp. said it is converting unit Security Bank Savings Corp. into a finance company. The conversion of the unit, which will be renamed SB Finance Co., is subject to regulatory approvals.
SOUTH ASIA
* Indian public sector banks' bad loans rose to 6.3 trillion rupees as of the end of September, an increase of almost 800 billion rupees compared to the end of the previous quarter, Indo-Asia News Service reported, citing Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar.
* Sundaram Finance Ltd. unit Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance cut its deposit rates by 50 basis points across the board until Dec. 16, The Hindu Business Line reported.
* Standard Chartered Plc will cut 40 to 50 jobs in India in the corporate and institutional banking division as part of the bank's restructuring, Business Standard reported.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
* Macquarie Group Ltd. merged its underperforming securities business with its commodities and financial markets business following pressure from investors, The Australian reported.
* The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a draft decision that it rejected four Australian banks' request to collectively boycott and negotiate with Apple Inc. in relation to its mobile payments system, Apple Pay. Westpac Banking Corp., National Australia Bank Ltd., Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank Ltd. had previously sought approval from the commission to talk with Apple about gaining access to near-field communication functionality in iPhones.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Middle East & Africa: Zimbabwe's new money; Russia plans Islamic bank with Bahrain
Europe: AEGON names CFO; StanChart to cut 10% of CIB jobs
Latin America: Grupo Aval's Q3 profit up 38%; LatAm bond sales could halve in 2017
North America: Chicago Stock Exchange's future Chinese owners to get limited voting rights
North America Insurance: Trump picks healthcare overhaul 'dream team;' testimony shows Anthem, Cigna rift
Sally Wang, Jonathan Cheah, Jaekwon Lim and Santibhap Ussavasodhi contributed to this report.
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Copyright SNL Financial LC Nov 29, 2016