Frances Gagua

South Korea completes first phase of digital currency feasibility test

The second phase of the test will be carried out until 22 June.

Indonesia prohibits financial institutions from trading crypto

OJK clarified that supervision of crypto is under Babbepti and the Ministry of Trade.

Chart of the Week: Vietnam’s card payments market to grow 24.1% in 2022

Strong anti-COVID measures allowed the market to reduce the pandemic’s impact.

Recent rate cuts to shave off $7.2b from Chinese banks’ net interest income

The impact on mortgage loans will not be felt until January 2023.

Bad loans of Philippine alternative lenders to decrease in 2022: study

The rate of their bad loans has hovered around 10% to 10.5%.

ING appoints ex-Westpac senior director as head of real estate finance in Australia

Darren Beatty has worked for the institutional banking teams of Westpac and CBA. 

Talent crunch threatens Hong Kong’s financial sector as expats flee: report

Inconveniences in overseas travelling may reportedly turn away much-needed talent.

South Korea mulls easing restrictions on investing in fintech: report

The country’s top regulator shared plans to enact a new law on the matter.

Mizuho submits business improvement plan following tech failures

Mizuho most recently saw disruptions to its corporate online bank services on 11 January. 

How Singapore FIs can address the tech and cyber security risks associated with public cloud adoption

The cloud is increasingly becoming the primary location for financial institutions to store and process data: most financial institutions have moved their applications to cloud platforms, and many of those that still have their data on-premise today are planning their imminent migration to cloud.

Union Bank’s capital buffers to weaken following Citi purchase: analyst

Any potential earnings boost remain uncertain; whilst reduced capital will take years to rebuild.

Standard Chartered appoints Roel Louwhoff as chief of tech, operations, and transformation

He replaces current COO David Whiteing, who is moving back to Australia.