APAC
SMBC APAC completes first SRT transaction
SMBC APAC completes first SRT transaction
Its sponsor partners are Blackstone, Stonepeak, and Clifford Capital.
Syfe achieves group profitability
Its AUM in Hong Kong grew nearly six-fold in 2025.
APAC banks in stronger capital positions than global peers
Regulators have more conservative local rules.
Wealth managers expand lifestyle offerings to capture UHNWs
UHNW-focused practices are more likely to offer concierge and lifestyle services.
BNP Paribas sells AG Insurance stake to Ageas for $2.2b
BNP Paribas said the deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
Endowus rolls out two investment portfolios in HK, SG
Income Enhanced Conservative and Income Enhanced Aggressiveness are now available.
HSBC: Human oversight key as AI advances
AI tools should be deployed with strong oversight.
Retail banks embrace social media and streaming to boost revenue
One digital bank in Europe reported an ARR of $50m from “financial media networks.”
Banks leverage AI to streamline research and financial analysis
AI is being adopted in use cases outside CRM and as a research assistant.
This week in finance: TenPay Global CEO on interoperable payments; tap-to-pay service roll-outs
OCBC and Vietnam separately strengthen their QR payment ties with China.
Here are five ways banks can use agentic AI
Agentic AI helped free up 10% more time for client interactions, McKinsey reported.
HSBC names Brendan Nelson as group chair
He will remain chairman of the group audit committee until February 2026.
APAC EM banks face rising bad loans in 2026
Risks are potentially highest in China, Thailand, the Philippines, Mongolia, and India.
What makes Malaysia and India more creditor friendly than the Philippines?
The Philippines is ‘unpredictable’ in enforcement of laws and resolution time.
Fiuu unveils tap-to-pay contactless payments on iPhone
Merchants must have the Fiuu VT iOS app and at least an iPhone XS.
Banks struggle to keep pace as fintechs scale agentic AI
Most incumbent initiatives are defined by narrower applications.
Malaysia’s GXBank facilitated 220 million transactions in 2025
The bank has also disbursed about MYR25m to MSMEs via GX FlexiLoan.
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1. Payment failures cost Singapore merchants $12b annually 2. Singapore's big 3 banks pivot to wealth as margins shrink 3. HSBC and HSBC Life sign Humansa MOU for HNW health planning 4. OCBC Q1 profit rises 5% to $1.97b on fee gains 5. Citi targets APAC insurance investments with new senior hiresResource Center
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It is wading downstream from mortgages to lend to developers, hardware stores, and the likes.
Commentary
Asia’s 20% advantage: The simplification strategy rewriting banking from Singapore to Shanghai
Perth is emerging as an unlikely testbed for the future of global finance