News

Bad loans, higher costs, and lower demand seen to hit lenders’ results.

The bank’s US unit announced earlier it would buy J O Hambro, which offers investment advisory services.

The American company said to have told the FSC it cannot find a way maintain status as KEB's major shareholder.

Upgrades in user interfaces and features offering simple and intuitive solutions pave the way to the next generation of banking experience.

Reports said Hana Financial had also joined the auction on taking over the suspended lender.

The bank has introduced app for iPhone, Android and Windows 7 and for iPads and Android tablets.

Estimate was made after the lender joined forces with Axis to boost remittance from India.

The lender joined its rivals in the move after the city received complaints from 64 card users.

Bank of Maharashtra announced its net profit for the second quarter is up by 92 per cent at Rs 100.42 crore compared from Rs 52.3 crore in the same period last year.

Union Bank of India reported a net profit of Rs.352.5 crore for the quarter ended Sep 30, 2011, increasing by 16.2 percent from Rs.303.4 crore of the same period of the previous financial year.

Bank Mandiri expects to open a new branch in Shanghai later this year to boost its business and tap Indonesian corporations in China. It waited for almost five years for this. “We are now waiting for final approval from one of the regulators, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in China,” said Haryanto Budiman, a senior executive vice president at Bank Mandiri. “The hope is that we can open the branch at the end of this year.” Haryanto said Bank Mandiri, Indonesia’s largest lender by assets, had to obtain a number of licenses from Chinese regulators. “China has a multi-license principle and there are numerous regulators in China,’’ he said, detailing the effort needed to secure a license. “It takes time, at least five years.” The China Banking Regulatory Commission granted Mandiri one of the necessary licenses in November last year. Mandiri will have to make a profit in consecutive years following the start of its operation in China, Haryanto said. “If we can make a profit for two straight years, then we will be allowed to use the Chinese yuan for transactions,’’ he said. Mandiri’s president director, Zulkifli Zaini, said in August that boosting lending in Indonesia and aggressively moving to tap markets would make the bank a regional player in the next two years. It hopes to be a top five bank in Southeast Asia by 2014 and top three by 2020. The full soptgry is available at Jakarta Globe.

Bank Central Asia and Bank CIMB Niaga, posted strong earnings in the first nine months of the year due to strong loan growth, according to a Jakarta Globe report.

A Vesting Order has been granted by the High Court to  transfer the entire business including all assets and liabilities of EONCAP Islamic Bank Bhd to Hong Leong Islamic Bank from Nov 1, 2011.

Bank Rakyat's pre-tax profit and zakat for the first of 2011 is up by 17 per cent to RM1.5 billion from RM1.28 billion in the same period last year, reports Bernama News.

Foreign lenders strive to survive despite losing market share as domestic banks are gaining competitiveness.

Vietnam’s banking system has become attractive to foreign investors for strategy in the long-term.