China
PSBC’s capital boost strengthens funding for rural and SME financing
PSBC’s capital boost strengthens funding for rural and SME financing
Low capital has constrained PSBC’s growth in its niche area of rural and inclusive finance.
Bank of East Asia names Bi Ming-qiang as chief executive of BEA China
Bi was formerly CEO, executive director, and president of China CITIC Bank International.
China Citic Bank stays resilient with lower exposure to risky sectors
The bank is less vulnerable to challenges from the property and retail banking segments.
China’s ICBC still world’s most valuable bank brand: study
Brand value went up 10% during the year.
ICBC launches $11.04b tech and innovation fund
It will support “hard technology” such as semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
Proposed capital injection to help Chinese megabanks expand loans
It will mitigate pressure from weakening internal capital generation, S&P said.
Bank of East Asia officially opens Global Services Centre
It is an IT Development & Test Centre for fintech solutions and AI adoption.
Chinese banks’ DeepSeek adoption brings risk management challenges
DeepSeek’s lower cost will widen gen AI access in the banking sector, S&P said.
Fubon Bank to benefit from UOB’s China retail banking exit: S&P
Fubon has the economies of scale to get more traction out of the business.
Alipay enables Amex card linking to pay in China
Alipay now enables 7 international card brands to pay in China.
BoCom to prioritize risk control, moderate loan book growth: S&P
Its loan book is projected to grow slower in 2024-2026.
Xtransfer ink MOU to offer cross-border financial services to African SMEs
Xtransfer will make use of Ecobank Group’s network in the continent.
Ant International names Jiang-Ming Yang as chief innovation officer
Yang led development of A+ Rewards, CoPilot, and EasySafePay for Antom.
HSBC cuts Philips’ currency transactions in China
‘Netting’ cut Philips’ cross-border transactions from 4,000 yearly to just one a month.
Weixin Pay users flock to Hong Kong, Japan for Spring Festival holiday
The use of promotions or “mini programs” doubled in Japan.
Alipay+ now connects over 1.6 billion users of 35 e-wallets, banks
The platform recently welcomed Kaspi.kz and BigPay.
Commonwealth Bank to sell stake in Bank of Hangzhou to insurer
The Australian bank could make about A$940m in proceeds.
Commentary
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