Asia-Pacific
Banking and finance news from China, Japan, India, Australia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific
Ant Group Names Cyril Han as Incoming CEO from March 2025, Succeeding Eric Jing
Ant Group announced that president and CFO Cyril Han will take over as CEO from 1 March 2025, with Eric Jing remaining as chairman.
HKMA Fines China CITIC Bank International HK$4 Million for AML Transaction Monitoring Failures
Hong Kong's HKMA imposed a HK$4 million penalty on China CITIC Bank International for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering transaction monitoring systems.
Reserve Bank of India Holds Repo Rate at 6.50% but Cuts Cash Reserve Ratio by 50 Basis Points
The RBI kept its benchmark repo rate at 6.50% while cutting the cash reserve ratio by 50bp to inject ₹1.16 trillion of liquidity into the banking system.
MAS Imposes S$2.4 Million Civil Penalty on JPMorgan Chase Bank Singapore for OTC Bond Disclosure Failures
Singapore's MAS fined JPMorgan Chase Bank S$2.4 million after relationship managers made inaccurate disclosures in 24 OTC bond trades, overcharging private banking clients.
Australia Passes Buy Now Pay Later Legislation Bringing BNPL Providers Under Credit Act
Australia's Parliament passed BNPL legislation requiring providers to hold a credit licence and meet responsible lending obligations under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Bank of Korea Surprises Markets with Second Consecutive Rate Cut to 3.00%
South Korea's central bank cut its benchmark rate to 3.00% in a surprise move, marking the first back-to-back reductions since 2009 as it seeks to stimulate slowing growth.
South Korea's Bank of Korea Cuts Base Rate by 25 Basis Points to 3.00%
The Bank of Korea lowered its base rate to 3.00% in a second consecutive cut, citing a softening growth outlook for South Korea.
New Zealand's Reserve Bank Cuts Official Cash Rate by 50 Basis Points to 4.25%
The RBNZ delivered a third consecutive rate cut, lowering the OCR to 4.25% and signalling further easing toward about 3.5% by end-2025.
Kakao Pay and PayPay Launch Cross-Border QR Payment Interoperability for Korean Users in Japan
Kakao Pay and Japan's PayPay have launched cross-border QR payment services allowing Kakao Pay users to pay at around 3.2 million PayPay merchants across Japan.
Mizuho Financial Group Reaches JPY 34.3 Trillion in Sustainable Finance by First Half of FY2024
Mizuho Financial Group's cumulative sustainable finance reached JPY 34.3 trillion by 1H FY2024, with JPY 16.1 trillion in environmental and climate initiatives, toward a JPY 100 trillion target.
China, EU and Singapore Publish Multi-Jurisdiction Common Ground Taxonomy at COP29 to Harmonise Green Finance
MAS, PBoC and the EU published the Multi-Jurisdiction Common Ground Taxonomy at COP29, to facilitate cross-border green finance across the three jurisdictions.
Reserve Bank of India Retains SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks for 2024
The RBI kept SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank on its D-SIB list for 2024, confirming higher capital surcharges for SBI and HDFC Bank from April 2025.