TOP NEWS IN EUROPEAN FINANCIALS
* Japan approved additional sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including an asset freeze on Sberbank of Russia and JSC Alfa-Bank. The new sanctions, which will be implemented from May 12, target a total of 28 Russian organizations and 398 Russian individuals, including President Vladimir Putin's daughters, The Japan Times reported.
* French insurer Axa SA is in early-stage negotiations with Banco BPM SpA over the potential acquisition of a controlling stake in the Italian lender's insurance businesses, which are valued at about €1.5 billion, sources told Bloomberg News. However, some of the sources said there is a possibility the discussions may falter after Crédit Agricole SA acquired a minority stake in Banco BPM last week, noting that the French lender is also interested in Banco BPM's insurance units. Representatives for Axa, Banco BPM and Crédit Agricole declined to comment on the matter, according to the report.
➤ The world's 100 largest banks, 2022
Twenty-six of the 37 European lenders on the list of the world's 100 largest banks slid down the rankings by between one and nine notches as of 2021-end from a year prior, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.
BANKING
* The EU approved a €250 million capital injection into Banco Português de Fomento SA as state aid for the Portuguese development bank.
* An unnamed investor is selling 116 million shares in Deutsche Bank AG and 72.5 million in Commerzbank AG, equivalent to a more than 5% stake in each German lender, Reuters reported, citing a bookrunner.
* Italy's UniCredit SpA moved the date of the publication of its first quarter results to May 5 from April 28 to allow more time to manage its cross-border exposure to Russia.
* A majority of Instabank ASA's shareholders voted in favor of Denmark-based Lunar Bank A/S's offer to acquire the Norway-based bank. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter.
* Sydbank A/S has rolled out a new digitization strategy focused on using artificial intelligence and digital technologies to drive greater efficiency in the bank's operations in Denmark, Børsen reported. The strategy is meant to accelerate work to digitize and automate more tasks across the group that can help reduce costs. Sydbank has set a cost-to-income ratio target of 60% by 2024, against 67.2% in 2021.
* Swiss private bank Reyl & Cie Holding SA appointed Nicolas Besson new chief investment officer, effective April 1, finews.ch wrote. Previously, Besson served as deputy CIO of the bank.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. closed its €1.7 billion acquisition of NN Investment Partners BV, the asset management arm of Dutch insurer NN Group NV. The deal brings Goldman's assets under supervision to roughly $2.8 trillion.
* U.K.-based peer-to-peer property lender Blend Loan Network Ltd. raised £120 million in its latest funding round, in which six large family offices participated, AltFi reported. The fresh funding will be used to boost the company's lending.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* The Italian government is working to form a new directorate-general under Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office that would boost the state's ability to govern rules on ownership changes in strategic companies, sources told Reuters. The move comes after the government required companies operating 5G networks to disclose more detailed information about potential mergers and supply deals, a requirement that was extended to cover banks and insurance companies.
Sheryl Obejera, Daniel Stephens, Meike Wijers, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Stéphanie Salti, Sophie Davies and Nelson Siqueira contributed to this report.
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