TOP NEWS IN GLOBAL FINANCIALS
* Deutsche Bank AG expects 2021 revenues to be lower than the 2020 level. The German bank also said CEO Christian Sewing's pay for 2020 increased to €7.4 million from €5.0 million a year ago after the company posted its first annual profit in six years. The bank's annual report showed that bonuses for investment bankers grew to €876 million, a 46% increase from the previous year's €602 million, following growth in the investment bank's revenue, which helped drive the group's profit in the fourth quarter.
* Stripe Inc. hit a valuation of $95 billion following its latest funding round in which it raised another $600 million from investors including Ireland's sovereign wealth agency. The Irish financial technology company, which also operates from the U.S., said the fresh funding will be used to boost its operations in Europe, particularly in Dublin. The valuation makes Stripe the most valuable U.S. startup, overtaking Elon Musk's SpaceX and Instacart, Bloomberg News reported, citing CBInsights data.
➤ Sabadell faces further cost-cutting pain as bank prepares for fresh leadership
Analysts believe the Spanish lender will have to find further savings to improve its efficiency and profitability, which significantly lag that of its domestic peers.
➤ Insurance stock prices surge on $1.9 trillion stimulus, strong jobs report
The insurance sector outperformed the broader market for the week ending March 12. The SNL U.S. Insurance Index rose 3.11%, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.64%.
U.S. & CANADA
* Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. disclosed that RF Capital Group Inc.'s board dismissed its proposal to acquire 100% of the latter's outstanding shares for $2.30 per share for cash or Canaccord Genuity common shares. Canaccord Genuity said the proposal represented a 31% premium to the closing price of RF Capital common shares on March 12 and a 30% premium to the volume-weighted average price for the 20 trading days ended on that date. It also said it is disappointed that it has been unable to engage with RF Capital's board regarding its proposal, and that RF Capital has "underperformed as a public company."
* Following the California insurance commissioner's call for auto insurers to return a portion of pandemic-related savings to customers, Keefe Bruyette & Woods analyst Meyer Shields expects most carriers to issue additional policyholder credits or refunds to placate both regulators and customers, broadly consistent with intensifying personal auto price competition. Shields believes that auto insurers are explicitly contemplating reduced driving in their recent rate adjustments, and overall, he thinks the industry is cutting personal auto insurance pricing, and some of these decreases started in 2020.
Click here for more of the day's essential bank and financial services news in the U.S. and Canada, and here for more of the day's global insurance news.
LATIN AMERICA
* Guilherme Benchimol, founder, chairman and CEO of Brazilian financial technology platform XP Inc., will step down from his role as CEO to become the company's executive chairman, effective May 12. Chief Technology Officer Thiago Maffra will replace Benchimol as CEO.
* Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said at a convention of the country's banking association that his government will file a bill this year to simplify the process of setting up businesses in the country and to cut down on bureaucracy regarding fiscal compliance. Finance Secretary Arturo Herrera Gutiérrez also announced changes to capital requirements for mortgage, consumer and small and medium-sized enterprise loans, which the government believes should help lower interest rates.
EUROPE
* U.S. private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc. has put an end to deal discussions with Greensill Capital (UK) Ltd. following JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s investment in Greensill's technology partner Taulia Inc., insiders told Reuters.
* Billions of dollars of suspicious funds were transferred through Danske Bank A/S' Estonian branch, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said, citing a 2014 audit report. The report explores shady practices that the Denmark-based bank's foreign clients used to move money through the Estonian branch, with Danske allegedly turning a blind eye to those practices. The report pointed out 47 specific breaches of money-laundering rules at the branch, Berlingske Business reported.
Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Europe.
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
* Absa Group Ltd. reported a lower profit in 2020 than a year earlier, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused turmoil across economies and markets. The South African banking group's full-year 2020 IFRS profit attributable to ordinary equity holders amounted to 5.88 billion rand, compared with 14.26 billion rand in 2019.
* Saudi British Bank has completed its merger with Saudi Arabia-based peer Alawwal Bank. All products and services are now combined for all customers, SABB said.
* S&P Global Ratings expects GDP growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to slowly recover from 2020's sharp recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and low oil prices. The rating agency expects long-lasting adverse effects from the 2020 shock on GCC economies and banking sectors. Saudi Arabia and Qatar's banking sectors will be less impacted than those in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain, while in Kuwait the story will depend on the evolution of the fiscal impasse.
Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in the Middle East and Africa.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Ant Group Co. Ltd. unveiled a set of internal control standards that govern its lending business and financial product offering, which are the focus of the ongoing probe by the Chinese regulators since its mega-IPO plan was halted late last year. The standards, or so-called self-disciplined codes, include "responsible lending" practices such as not issuing loans to minors, and limiting credit for borrowers who are young or have repayment risk.
* India's central bank rejected Yes Bank Ltd.'s proposal to establish an asset reconstruction company over conflict of interest concerns, insiders told Mint. The planned unit, which was expected to be operational within six months upon approval of the central bank, was supposed to warehouse bad loans.
* China's Tencent Holdings Ltd. will likely be required to establish a financial holding company to include its banking, insurance and payment services, insiders told Bloomberg News.
Click here for more of the day's essential financial news in Asia-Pacific.
Ryan Jeffrey Sy contributed to this report.
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