The Global Banker — Banking Industry News & Intelligence
Regulations
APRA and RBNZ find banks resilient in first joint stress test since 2017
M&A
Taiwan regulator approves Bank SinoPac merger to form NT$3.19 trillion-asset bank
Latest News
MPS foundation backs Intesa's tender offer for Monte dei Paschi ahead of 29 October vote
ECB authorises UniCredit to lift Commerzbank stake above 30% with no upper limit
APRA and RBNZ find banks resilient in first joint stress test since 2017
Taiwan regulator approves Bank SinoPac merger to form NT$3.19 trillion-asset bank
Mastercard and BVNK launch Global Money Platform for stablecoin and fiat accounts
HKMA unveils ART framework to guide responsible AI adoption by banks
Hernández de Cos wins Sánchez and Feijóo backing for ECB presidency bid
SSM opens on-site inspections of Greek banks' 25 largest corporate borrowers
Bank Muscat's nine-month profit rises 9.2% to OMR209.18 million
UAE central bank unveils five-pillar resilience package for banks
OCC names nine banks, including TD, over political debanking practices
SEB expects 120bps capital buffer hit after Swedish FSA model review
Bank of America misses Q3 profit estimates on weak trading and $1.2bn charge
Nordea pauses share buybacks as ECB model talks point to higher risk exposure
US Treasury imposes more than $1.21 billion in penalties on Bank of America
Kenya and Tanzania hold benchmark interest rates as inflation stays within targets
India declares Fairfax unit strategic buyer for 60.72% of IDBI Bank
Bank of Uganda raises benchmark rate to 12% at special meeting to counter inflation risks
IDBI Bank shares fall 7% as government agrees $5.5 billion stake sale to Fairfax
Uzbekistan's central bank drafts 2026–2030 plan to widen SME access to credit
Banking News
View All →Bank Muscat's nine-month profit rises 9.2% to OMR209.18 million
Oman's largest lender by assets grew nine-month net profit 9.2% to OMR209.18 million, helped by deposit and lending growth, as its assets rose 10% to OMR16 billion.
Bank of America misses Q3 profit estimates on weak trading and $1.2bn charge
Bank of America missed third-quarter revenue and earnings estimates as a $1.2bn anti-money laundering settlement charge and weaker fixed income trading weighed on results, with remediation costs now in ongoing expenses.
Nordea pauses share buybacks as ECB model talks point to higher risk exposure
Nordea has paused share buybacks until the effect on its risk exposure amount is clarified, and its shares fell 5% in early Helsinki trading after the pause and a weaker-than-expected third-quarter profit.
Chilean banks ease mortgage and real-estate lending standards as demand strengthens
Chilean banks eased lending conditions for housing and real-estate firms in the third quarter of 2026 and reported stronger demand in both segments, according to the central bank's lending survey.
Executive Moves
View All →
Standard Chartered appoints Ying Ying Tan as global head of securities services and digital assets
Tan succeeds Margaret Harwood-Jones, who is now CEO, UK & Europe, and takes on the digital assets role at the same time, both effective immediately, the bank said.
Africa Finance Corporation Appointed Nigeria’s Cardoso as New Board Chair
Africa Finance Corporation appointed Central Bank of Nigeria governor Olayemi Cardoso as board chair, succeeding Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as the institution expands infrastructure investment across the continent.
BNP Paribas hired two managing directors for UK advisory expansion
BNP Paribas hired Govind Shanbogue from Santander and Sandip Dhillon from UBS as managing directors, expanding its senior UK advisory team to six amid rebounding deal activity.
Absa appointed Eric Muriuki to lead pan-African digital growth ventures
Absa appointed former NCBA executive Eric Muriuki to a newly created pan-African growth and ventures role, with a spokesman confirming his mandate on 14 October.
TGB Magazine
Latest issueIssue 08
Q4 2026: Record profits, on a tightrope
The first half paid banks well for volatility, wealth and lending. The rate cycle has now turned, and the second half will test which of those engines keeps running.
In this issue
M&A
View All →
MPS foundation backs Intesa's tender offer for Monte dei Paschi ahead of 29 October vote
Fondazione Mps, once the bank's largest shareholder, will put its backing to its administrative deputation on 23 October, as opponents of MPS's defences already exceed the 34% veto threshold.
ECB authorises UniCredit to lift Commerzbank stake above 30% with no upper limit
UniCredit has ECB clearance to go beyond 30% of Commerzbank and expects to hold about 50% of its voting rights around the end of the year, once remaining regulatory processes are complete.
Taiwan regulator approves Bank SinoPac merger to form NT$3.19 trillion-asset bank
The combined bank is expected to have NT$3.19 trillion in total assets, with Bank SinoPac paying for the deal in new shares to King's Town Bank shareholders and any remainder in cash.
India declares Fairfax unit strategic buyer for 60.72% of IDBI Bank
India has declared a Fairfax Financial subsidiary strategic buyer for 60.72% of IDBI Bank at about US$5.6 billion, though the sale process is not final and no binding agreements have been signed.
Fintech
View All →
Mastercard and BVNK launch Global Money Platform for stablecoin and fiat accounts
Mastercard and BVNK's single-API platform lets banks embed fiat and stablecoin accounts, cards and payouts under their own brand, with card issuing in 130-plus countries.
BBVA and Santander Completed €150 Million Blockchain Loan for Iberdrola
BBVA and Santander completed a €150 million syndicated loan for Iberdrola using a blockchain platform that records and manages the transaction’s full contractual lifecycle digitally.
IMF and World Bank launched global blueprint against cyber-enabled financial fraud
The IMF, World Bank and Bank of Thailand launched a fraud-resilience framework for financial services as officials estimated digital scams cost the global economy about $1 trillion annually.
Airtel Money completed London admission as all 2.7 billion shares began trading
Airtel Money’s full share capital entered unconditional London trading on 14 October, completing admission of 2.7 billion shares after conditional dealings began five days earlier.
Regulations
View All →
APRA and RBNZ find banks resilient in first joint stress test since 2017
The 2026 Trans-Tasman Stress Test found both banking systems would stay resilient through a severe downturn in both economies, while banks kept lending despite substantial losses.
HKMA unveils ART framework to guide responsible AI adoption by banks
The HKMA's guidance sets out nine principles across the three pillars of its ART Framework, and the regulator will also test agentic AI applications in its GenAI Sandbox++.
SSM opens on-site inspections of Greek banks' 25 largest corporate borrowers
The 25 borrowers hold over €32bn of loans out of €94bn, about 34% of the business credit portfolio, putting concentration risk at the centre of supervisory checks.
OCC names nine banks, including TD, over political debanking practices
The US regulator said nine lenders, including TD, restricted access to financial services on political or religious grounds, while the CFPB plans its own investigation into compliance with consumer finance law.