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☆ China's top investment bank CITIC cuts base salary by up to 15% -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG/BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) - China's CITIC Securities is cutting pay across its investment banking division, lowering base salaries by up to 15%, two sources said, in a rare move in the country's financial sector as Beijing pushes to bridge income disparity. The country's top investment bank by market value has also yet to pay bonuses to bankers for work done last year, the two sources close to the matter said. China's well-heeled financial dealmakers over the past year have been getting a crash course in austerity with pay cuts and perks reined in as their state-owned employers respond to the "common prosperity" drive. CITIC Securities' domestic rival China International Capital Corp (CICC) (3908.HK) last month cut this year's bonuses for investment bankers by 30%-50% from a year earlier, said two separate sources with knowledge of the matter. Besides remuneration cuts, some investment banks have asked staff to avoid displays of wealth such as uploading photographs to social media of expensive meals or overseas trips, industry sources have said.

Persons: China's, CICC, Julie Zhu, Selena Li, Roxanne Liu, Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: CITIC Securities, China International Capital Corp, HK, Reuters, China's, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, BEIJING, Beijing, China, CICC, Hong Kong

But China, which bristles at visits to Taiwan by foreign government officials, tends to ignore trips by business executives, who usually keep clear of politics. Dimon will meet bank employees and clients in Taiwan on his visit, said the source, who sought anonymity as the plans were not public, while adding that no meetings were planned with Taiwan officials. As part of his Asia tour, Dimon will also visit South Korea after the Taiwan trip, said the source. But there was no plan for President Tsai Ing-wen to meet Dimon, her office said on Friday. Dimon favours East-West "derisking" rather than decoupling, he told the three-day JPMorgan Global China Summit event in the city on Wednesday.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Andrew Collier, Dimon, Nvidia Corp's, Jensen Huang, Pat Gelsinger, Dimon's, Ma Ying, Tsai Ing, Chen Jining, Selena Li, Kane Wu, Scott Murdoch, Ben Blanchard, Emily Chan, Mrinmay Dey, Sumeet Chatterjee, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: JPMorgan Chase &, JPMorgan, Orient Capital Research, Bloomberg, Wall, U.S, Nvidia, Intel, Financial, Commission, Shanghai's Communist, JPMorgan Global China, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, China, Taipei, Beijing, Hong Kong, Asia, South Korea, East, United States, Sydney, Bengaluru

Embattled Credit Suisse had been preparing for years to set up a wholly owned local bank in China. Credit Suisse and UBS declined to comment. The clock is ticking for UBS to close the deal with Credit Suisse. The China Securities Regulatory Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. UBS currently runs a 67%-owned securities joint venture with a Beijing state-owned company.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Summer Zhen, Selena Li, Engen Tham, Sumeet Chatterjee, Muralikumar Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, Swiss, Credit, National Financial Regulatory Administration, Suisse's, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, SHANGHAI, China, Swiss, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai

☆ Prudential says CFO leaves after conduct falls short of standards
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People walk past a Prudential sign outside offices in the City of London March 27, 2013. REUTERS/Luke MacGregorSYDNEY/HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - Prudential Plc (PRU.L) said on Wednesday its chief financial officer, James Turner, would leave the company after a code of conduct investigation into a recent recruitment showed he had fallen short of its standards. "The group sets itself high standards and Mr Turner fell short on this occasion," Prudential said in a statement, without detailing the issue. The incident was identified as part of internal processes, and the recruitment in question was not completed, a company spokesperson said, without stating the nature of the misconduct. Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Luke MacGregor SYDNEY, James Turner, Turner, Ben Bulmer, Mr Turner, Anil Wadhwani, Bulmer, Scott Murdoch, Selena Li, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Prudential, REUTERS, Prudential Plc, HK, Thomson Locations: City of London, HONG KONG, Asia, Sydney, Hong Kong

☆ JPMorgan's Dimon says US, China need to have 'real engagement'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday said the United States and China need to have "real engagement", during his first visit to China since his 2021 comment about the bank outlasting China's ruling party sparked uproar. So I'm hoping we have real engagement," Dimon said, answering a question about Sino-U.S. decoupling at the three-day JPMorgan Global China Summit in Shanghai. Dimon is on his first visit to China since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he joked that JPMorgan will outlast China's Communist Party, sparking outrage in China and prompting him to express regret. Reporting by Samuel Shen in Shanghai and Xie Yu and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Dimon, outlast, Samuel Shen, Xie Yu, Selena Li, Christopher Cushing Organizations: JPMorgan Chase &, JPMorgan Global China Summit, JPMorgan, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, United States, China, Shanghai, East, U.S, Hong Kong

☆ Wall St mixed, Treasury yields climb on mixed data; debt ceiling talks take center stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Disappointing results from Home Depot (HD.N), the largest U.S. home improvement chain, combined with weaker-than-expected retail sales data suggested consumer spending is losing some momentum as restrictive monetary policy dampens demand. However, a core measure of retail sales suggested the American consumer continues to bolster the economy. European shares ended lower as downbeat earnings and the U.S. retail sales data stoked worries about softer consumer spending. U.S. Treasury yields continued to rise on the heels of the retail sales data, suggesting that the Federal Reserve's efforts to toss cold water on the economy in order to rein in inflation has yet to take full effect. The dollar index rose 0.14%, with the euro down 0.04% to $1.0868.

☆ Wall St dips, Treasury yields climb on mixed data; debt ceiling talks take spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 15, 2023. Meanwhile, disappointing results from Home Depot (HD.N), combined with weaker-than-expected retail sales data suggested consumer spending is losing some momentum as restrictive monetary policy dampens demand. However, a core measure of retail sales suggested the American consumer continues to bolster the economy. U.S. Treasury yields continued to climb on the heels of the Retail Sales data, suggesting that the Fed's efforts to toss cold water on the economy in order to rein in inflation has yet to take full effect. The greenback edged higher against a basket of world currencies after the weaker-than-expected retail sales data, shifting focus to the partisan debt ceiling wrangling unfolding in Washington.

☆ Shares edge up in nervy trade ahead of debt limit talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, May 15, 2023. Other than that, however, global markets are showing little evidence of stress, at least for now. China saw industrial output rise in April but by far less than economists had expected, while retail sales also fell short of forecasts - highlighting the fragility of the post-COVID recovery. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.23% to 135.78. In commodities, Brent crude rose 0.7% to $75.76 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 0.66% to $71.60.

☆ Asia stocks shrug off China data disappointment, Japan index pierces 33-year high
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters) - Asia stocks mostly held firm on Tuesday, despite weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data, with Japan's broad share index hitting a 33-year high on a rally in chipmakers following U.S. tech sector gains. read moreJapan's Topix (.TOPX) was up 0.5% to 2,125.45 in afternoon trade, after earlier hitting 2,126.14, its highest since August 1990. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) edged 0.32% higher. The dollar index fell 0.029%, with the Japanese yen strengthening 0.10% versus the U.S. currency at 135.98 per dollar. China's benchmark stock index keeping the momentum from Monday's rally and climbing 0.93%.

☆ Asia stocks steady despite China data miss, helped by weaker dollar outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters) - Asia stocks mostly held firm on Tuesday despite weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data, with investors expecting the world's second-biggest economy to provide policy support. read moreJapan's broad Topix (.TOPX) gained 0.48% to 2,124.92, its highest since August 1990, helped by the robust outlook of its megabanks. read moreRetail sales also missed expectations, and, coming against a backdrop of China's weak industrial, credit growth and import indicators, highlighted a wobbly post-COVID recovery. "The market is thinking that the Fed is done and the U.S. dollar is going to come down a little bit so that supports the markets in Asia," Craig said. The dollar index fell 0.039%, with the Japanese yen strengthening 0.12% versus the U.S. currency at 135.96 per dollar.

☆ Exclusive: HSBC reaches deal to buy out China fund partner -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 8 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) has agreed to buy out its China fund management joint venture partner, two people familiar with the matter said, as the Asia-focused bank pushes ahead with expansion in the world's second-largest economy. HSBC, which currently owns a 49% stake in HSBC Jintrust Fund Management, has signed an agreement with Shanxi Trust under which the Chinese state-owned company will sell its 51% holding in the joint venture to the bank, said the sources. Representatives for Shanghai-headquartered HSBC Jintrust and Shanxi Trust did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HSBC's move to boost its stake in the fund venture is the lender's latest to expand its presence in China. The London-headquartered bank converted its China insurance joint venture to a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2021, and boosted ownership of its China securities joint venture to 90% last year.

☆ HSBC to raise Hong Kong best lending rate to 5.75%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, May 4 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) will raise its Hong Kong dollar best lending rate from 5.625% to 5.75% with effect from Friday, the bank said in a statement on Thursday, following the territory's central bank hiking its base rate by 25 basis points. Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HSBC posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. HSBC said the planned $10 billion sale, originally slated to be completed by the end of this year, will now only likely go through in the first quarter of 2024. HSBC reported deposits fell 0.6% to $1.6 trillion, excluding those it acquired by bailing out the UK arm of failed U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank and the reclassification of French retail deposits. Despite the surging profit, HSBC did not raise its key performance target of a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, which analysts were anticipating. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said the results showed its strengths in a rising rate environment, and played down the risks of further contagion for the banking sector. HSBC posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. The profit was much higher than the $8.64 billion average estimate of 17 analysts compiled by the bank. Despite the surging profit, HSBC did not raise its key performance target of reaching a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, while analysts were estimating the key metric would be lifted. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, May 2 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L) reported on Tuesday a better than expected tripling of quarterly profit, as rising interest rates worldwide boosted the lender's income and helped it pay a first quarterly dividend since 2019. Europe's largest bank posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the first quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. The results were better than the $8.64 billion average estimate of 17 analysts compiled by HSBC. It announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, its first quarterly dividend since 2019, following calls of shareholders to increase the dividend payout. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HONG KONG, April 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) (STAN.L) on Wednesday said first-quarter profit jumped 21%, beating expectations, as rising interest rates buoyed income from its cash management and retail banking businesses. The earnings update showed how rising central bank rates have boosted revenue, as StanChart charged borrowers more interest while not passing all of the increase to depositors. StanChart, which earns most of its revenue in Asia, said January-March statutory pretax profit reached $1.81 billion. That compared with $1.49 billion a year earlier and the $1.43 billion average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by the bank. The bank said it saw signs of stabilisation in China's troubled commercial real estate market, with no increase in credit impairment from the previous quarter.

HONG KONG, April 26 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered PLC (StanChart) (STAN.L) on Wednesday said first-quarter pretax profit jumped 21%, beating analyst estimates, as rising interest rates buoyed cash management income and retail product sales of the emerging markets-focused lender. StanChart, which earns most of its revenue in Asia, said statutory pretax profit for January-March reached $1.81 billion. That compared with $1.49 billion a year earlier and the $1.43 billion average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by the bank. It was the bank's largest single-quarter profit since the start of 2014, as rising interest rates boosted lending income while its financial markets trading division saw frenzied trading from customers amid volatile markets. The earnings update from StanChart showed how rising central bank rates have boosted revenue, as it charged borrowers more interest while not passing through all of the increase to depositors.

☆ Citigroup's Asia Q1 wealth revenue jumps 20% amid new clients, investment gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, April 24 (Reuters) - Citigroup's (C.N) Asia wealth revenue surged 20% in the first quarter of 2023, backed by investment gains, insurance revenue and a jump in new private banking clients, according to a company spokesperson. Still, globally, the bank's wealth management business was weaker, recording $1.8 billion in first quarter revenue, down 9% from the same period last year. The U.S lender cited headwinds in securing revenue from investment products and higher interest rates paid on deposits as being the main factors for the global decline. Meanwhile, the firm's institutional business, including banking, services and markets, recorded $2.4 billion in first quarter revenue in Asia, up 6% from a year ago. The firm's Asia head told Reuters last August it planned to hire around 3,000 new staff for its Asia institutional business in the next few years, sharpening its focus in a fast-growing region.

☆ HSBC top shareholder renews call for breaking up of bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, April 18 (Reuters) - Top shareholder of HSBC (HSBA.L) renewed its call for breaking up of the Asia-focused bank on Tuesday, saying the lender has failed to address key business model challenges which has resulted in deterioration in its operating performance. Ping An Asset Management Company (Ping An AMC) said in a statement HSBC has "drained" its Asia unit of dividends and growth capital to support its relatively low-return non-Asia businesses. Over the past two years, Ping An AMC said it had shared numerous structural suggestions with HSBC management ranging from listing the HSBC Asia business in Hong Kong to consolidating Asia businesses. Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

HSBC should separate its Asia business into a Hong Kong-listed entity, top shareholder Ping An said in an update to proposals it began to push for last November. Glass Lewis said the strategic review proposal, filed by individual shareholder Ken Lui in Hong Kong and backed by Ping An, was "not in shareholders' interest". HSBC also denied a claim by Ping An that the bank had "refused to verbally engage in discussions on the proposals". The lender has had extensive discussions with Ping An on these topics, a spokesperson for HSBC said. London listed shares in HSBC were down 0.5% on Tuesday afternoon, against a broad-based 1.3% rally in the STOXX European banks index (.SX7P).

☆ HSBC shareholder Ping An to vote for bank's break-up at annual meeting -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG/LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - HSBC's (HSBA.L) biggest shareholder Ping An is likely to vote in favour of splitting the bank up at its annual investor meeting on May 5, a source familiar with the Chinese insurer's thinking said on Monday. HSBC recommended that shareholders vote against the resolutions, and has, since Ping An began urging the spinoff last November, maintained that its global presence is worth more than any such fragmentation would yield. A spokesperson for Ping An declined to comment. With an around 8% stake in HSBC, Ping An would not be able to force the issue on its own. Reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong and Lawrence White in London Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ World stocks hope for Fed pause, dollar stalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Herbert Lash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Gold climbed back up above the key $2,000 per ounce level as the dollar came off Monday's peak, while oil prices rose despite Chinese inflation data pointing to persistently weak demand. Investors are eagerly awaiting U.S. consumer prices data on Wednesday and producer prices on Thursday. The consumer price index is expected to show core inflation rose 0.4% on a monthly basis (USCPF=ECI) and 5.6% year-over-year (USCPFY=ECI) in March, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The dollar fell after a strong U.S. jobs report for March showed a resilient labor market, adding to expectations of another Fed rate hike. The dollar index fell 0.244%, with the euro up 0.41% to $1.0904 and the yen weakening 0.12% at 133.78 per dollar.

The consumer price index is expected to show core inflation rose 0.4% on a monthly basis (USCPF=ECI) and 5.6% year-over-year (USCPFY=ECI) in March. The two-year Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, rose 3.5 basis points to 4.043%. "We're just beginning to feel the pain of these much higher interest rates. The dollar fell after a strong U.S. jobs report for March showed a resilient labor market, adding to expectations of another Fed rate hike. The 10-year JGB yield fell to as low as 0.445%, its lowest since April 4, after hovering at 0.465% in the previous session.

☆ World stocks cling to upbeat mood, dollar stalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

European stocks added 0.5% (.STOXX), U.S. equity futures pointed to a positive Wall Street open , and Japan's blue-chip Nikkei rallied over 1% (.N225). Markets price in a roughly 70% chance of a May hike, having last week priced such a move as a coin toss. Traders still price in rate cuts by year-end as the economic growth outlook weakens, exacerbated by banking turmoil. U.S. March inflation data on Wednesday could provide the next steer for markets on the rate outlook. U.S. Treasury yields edged down on Tuesday, however, , with rate sensitive two-year yields 4 bps lower at 3.96%.

☆ World stocks hold on to upbeat mood, dollar stalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

European stock markets opened broadly firmer (.STOXX), U.S. stock futures pointed to a positive open for Wall Street shares , and Japan's blue-chip Nikkei rallied over 1% (.N225). Friday's non-farm payrolls suggested labour markets remain resilient, boosting expectations for a 25 basis point (bps) U.S. rate increase in May. NEW BOJ CHIEFIn Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.57%, while MSCI's world stock index was up 0.3% (.MIWD00000PUS). U.S. Treasury yields edged down in European trade , with rate sensitive two-year yields last down 3 bps at 3.96%. Brent crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.74%, to $84.81 a barrel, while U.S. WTI futures gained 68 cents, or 0.83%, to $80.41 a barrel.

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