News

HSBC intends to penetrate Vietnam's promising personal banking segment where less than 10 percent have a bank account. Thus it will soon double its reach in Vietnam by opening three more outlets in Ho Chi Minh City.

Indonesia’s Bank Rakyat says it will cut dividends 35 percent as it faces government pressure to crank out loans with loan growth expected at 22 percent.

Whilst the National Australia Bank is accused of looking at offshoring 628 jobs, Westpac chief Gail Kelly says she will not send jobs overseas while the economy remains tough.

Once bitten perhaps not so twice shy. Temasek and a Goldman Sachs fund are reportedly looking at buying Bank of America’s $8.5 billion stake in Construction Bank of China.

It may not have made any money on the sale of its 2.7 percent stake in HDFC for $263 million, but it wasn’t alone heading for the exit door.

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.