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* The European Commission approved new rules to lower the capital requirements for insurance companies' investments in equity and private debt, as well as providing long-term capital financing. The changes will be subject to a three-month review period by the European Parliament and Council.
* The European Union will give the U.K. the option to unilaterally exit the bloc's customs union while maintaining the other elements of the proposed Irish border backstop, EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said.
* British lender Standard Chartered PLC and Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG agreed to settle alleged market misconduct related to the 2009 IPO of a now-defunct Chinese forestry firm in Hong Kong, Reuters reported, citing a counsel for the Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission.
UK AND IRELAND
* U.K. challenger banks OneSavings Bank PLC and Charter Court Financial Services Group PLC confirmed they are in advanced talks on a potential all-share merger. The combined group is expected to have a market capitalization of roughly £1.6 billion, the Financial Times noted.
* The Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority ordered several British banks to boost their stock of liquid assets ahead of Brexit to enable them to cope with the market meltdown expected to happen if the U.K. fails to reach a withdrawal deal with the EU, insiders told the Financial Times.
* U.S.-based Mastercard Inc. said its offer window to acquire U.K. payment processing company Earthport PLC has lapsed March 8, placing rival Visa Inc. in pole position to purchase the firm.
* The BoE directed Visa unit Visa Europe Ltd. to implement all the remediation actions recommended by an external party review over a June 2018 service outage and appoint audit firm PwC to assess its progress in implementing them.
* U.K.-based Non-Standard Finance PLC CEO John van Kuffeler told Reuters he remained confident that the subprime lender will succeed with its proposed £1.3 billion offer to acquire rival Provident Financial PLC, but declined to comment on whether the value of the bid will be increased. Meanwhile, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has warned Non-Standard Finance over its plans to potentially restructure Provident Financial should a deal be completed, according to The Times.
* British asset manager Hermes Investment Management Ltd. launched...