TOP NEWS IN EUROPEAN FINANCIALS
* Nordea Bank Abp will launch a share buyback program of up to €1.002 billion, commencing tomorrow or as soon as possible thereafter. Not more than 310,365,414 shares, equivalent to approximately 8% of all the Finland-based bank's shares, may be repurchased under the program, which is due to end no later than Aug. 31.
* Citigroup Inc. has decided to exit consumer business and other lines of business in Russia, and to stop soliciting any new business or clients in the country amid its invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. banking giant said it will continue to reduce other remaining operations and exposure in Russia.
* HSBC Continental Europe SA, a France-based subsidiary of U.K.-headquartered HSBC Holdings PLC, is selling its branch operations in Greece to Pancreta Bank SA. The in-principle agreement, which is subject to HSBC Continental Europe's consultation with its unions and works councils and regulatory approval, is expected to complete in the first half of 2023.
➤ Russia strains on US banks surface despite modest direct exposure
Claims on Russia among U.S. banks have never been huge, and have dropped sharply, but substantial losses still loom.
➤ Global pension funds scramble to exit Russia investments
The impact of sanctions and market volatility will make it difficult for sponsors to exit Russian investments and some pension fund managers cannot easily assess their exposure.
➤ China's housing, monetary policy restraint to keep banking risks in check
Banks in China are facing rising pressure on their profitability as a continued downturn in the property sector and lingering pandemic-related disruptions weigh on their loan growth, net interest margins and asset quality.
READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.
BANKING
* France-based Crédit Agricole SA has raised the bonus pool for key staff in its corporate and investment banking division by roughly 10%, insiders told Bloomberg News. A spokesperson for the bank declined to give comments to Bloomberg.
* Spain-based Banco Santander SA has launched a new €865 million share buyback plan after receiving green light from the country's regulator, Expansión reported. The bank will buy shares at a maximum average price of €4.12 between March 13 and May 18.
* Sweden's Swedbank AB (publ) said a special investigator of white-collar crime at Estonia's Central Criminal Police has summoned unit Swedbank AS as a suspect to an interrogation. Estonia's financial supervisory authority in November 2019 submitted to the prosecutor's office a part of its investigation into potential money laundering or other criminal activities at the unit. Swedbank said the unit is cooperating with authorities.
* Greece-based Alpha Services and Holdings SA's fourth-quarter 2021 loss attributable to shareholders widened year over year to €408.1 million from a restated €29.6 million. For full year 2021, the bank booked an attributable loss of €2.91 billion, compared to a restated profit of €103.8 million a year ago. The bank said its exposure to Russia or Ukraine is immaterial.
* Germany-based private bank Bethmann Bank AG, a subsidiary of Dutch lender ABN AMRO Bank NV, expects lower after-tax profit this year due to higher investments in information technology, infrastructure and compliance, and uncertainties from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, CEO Hans Hanegraaf told Börsen-Zeitung,
* Ceská sporitelna a. s., a Czech Republic-based unit of Austria's Erste Group Bank AG, agreed to acquire a 20% stake in Rekenber, a local startup developing software that helps banks assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers, with the value of the transaction amounting to 12 million koruny, Hospodarske Noviny reported.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* U.K.-based M&G PLC appointed Edward Braham board chair, effective March 14. The interim chair since January 2021, Fiona Clutterbuck, will resume the role of senior independent director. Fellow U.K.-based asset manager Mattioli Woods PLC appointed David Kiddie a nonexecutive chairman, as announced Oct. 1, 2021. Kiddie will succeed Joanne Lake, who stepped down with immediate effect.
* France-based asset manager Apax Partners SAS is targeting €10 billion in AUM by 2025 by expanding its range of strategies and geographical scope, L'Agefi wrote.
* Digital asset manager CoinShares (UK) Ltd. acquired another 20.28% stake in FlowB Holding Switzerland SA, parent company of Swiss online bank Flowbank SA, in addition to the 9.02% it already holds in order to strengthen their collaboration in the digital asset sphere.
* Former Wirecard AG CEO Markus Braun and two other former senior executives have been charged in Germany over suspected market manipulation and false representation of the collapsed payments company's financial accounts, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a statement from German prosecutors. Braun's legal representatives disputed the charges, Handelsblatt wrote.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* European regulators do not intend to implement a blanket ban on dividends and other shareholder payouts in response to the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Financial Times reported, citing Andrea Enria, chair of the ECB's supervisory board.
* Russia's central bank is expected to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 20% on March 18, according to a Reuters poll of 17 analysts. The central bank more than doubled the rate at the end of February in a move to support financial stability amid sweeping international sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
* The ECB said EU banks do not fully meet expectations on disclosure of climate and environmental risks, and significant gaps remain despite progress since a 2020 assessment. The supervisors have informed banks of shortcomings, having published examples of good practices.
Sheryl Obejera, Arno Maierbrugger, Meike Wijers, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Stéphanie Salti, Sophie Davies and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
