TOP NEWS IN EUROPEAN FINANCIALS
* U.K.-based banking group Standard Chartered PLC is resuming dividend payouts and said that it would complete a share buyback program it previously suspended despite swinging to a statutory loss after tax of $476 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 from a year-ago profit of $72 million.
* Finland-based insurer Sampo Oyj will be "materially reducing" its stake in Nordea Bank Abp over the following 18 months under its plan to focus on its property and casualty business.
➤ Coronavirus issues overshadow Brexit impact on UK PE M&A
Some sectors have taken additional Brexit-induced hits on problems exacerbated by the pandemic, but market participants believe the U.K. will retain its reputation as a top deal-making hub.
➤ HSBC's Asia pivot may put it in path of rivals seeking a share of the same pie
Asia has already been pulling the weight of the three business divisions HSBC plans to grow in the region, an indication that the "pivot" toward the region has already been happening for the bank.
➤ Panelists: UK insurance reforms should not focus on EU equivalence
The U.K. should move forward with non-controversial changes to its insurance regime as soon as possible, M&G's director of public policy recently said at the Association of British Insurers conference.
EARNINGS SPOTLIGHT
* French insurance group AXA SA's full-year 2020 net income declined 18% to €3.16 billion from €3.86 billion in 2019.
* Russia-based VTB Bank PJSC's fourth-quarter 2020 net profit dropped 77.9% year over year to 16.2 billion rubles from 73.2 billion rubles.
* Germany-based Munich Re posted a profit of €212 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, down from the year-ago €217 million.
* Belgium-based Ageas SA/NV's fourth-quarter 2020 net result jumped 44% year over year to €147.0 million from €101.9 million.
BANKING
* Swiss banks UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG are said to be moving their bankers to mainland China from Hong Kong as the country continues to relax its rules on foreign financial firms, insiders told Bloomberg News.
* Sweden-based Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) has launched a sustainability plan, including a climate-neutrality goal of net-zero emissions by 2040 at the latest. Realtid.se covered.
* Swedbank AB (publ) decided not to file claims for damages against former CEOs Birgitte Bonnesen and Michael Wolf and former board members, saying the likelihood of success is "extremely low." The Swedish bank reportedly mulled the action in light of a money-laundering scandal in its Baltic business.
* Finland-based lender Nordea is set to exit its Nordic sub-custody business and has entered a strategic referral agreement with U.S.-based Citigroup Inc. in connection with the exit
* The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has instructed Danske Bank A/S to appoint external experts to monitor the bank's implementation of a new money laundering-related Financial Crime Plan, FinansWatch wrote.
* Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA is examining potential job cuts of up to 3,000 in its home market, equivalent to roughly 10% of its workforce there, in a bid to keep up with the transition to online channels, Reuters reported, citing newspaper Expansión.
* Deposit Solutions GmbH entered a cooperation with the consumer finance unit of French lender Crédit Agricole SA, which will use the German fintech's platform to offer fixed deposits to its clients. L'Agefi covered.
* Novo Banco SA confirmed its intention of cutting around 750 employees within the next three years in Portugal, Jornal de Negócios reported. The confirmation comes after the National Workers Commission claimed that the bank's plans included the dismissal of 1,500 workers, instead of 750. Novo Banco said an average of 250 job cuts yearly will be maintained until 2023.
* Poland-based ING Bank Śląski SA is ready to seek settlements with Swiss franc mortgage holders and believes there is no other alternative to resolve the franc mortgage problem in the Polish banking sector, PAP reported, citing the lender's CEO, Brunon Bartkiewicz.
* Nova Ljubljanska banka d.d. could pay €92 million in dividends from the 2020 profit and roughly €300 million in dividends within three years, SEEbiz reported. For now, the Slovenian bank has the ECB's approval to pay €25 million worth of dividends to its shareholders.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* U.K.-based Aviva PLC has postponed to March 19 from Feb. 26 the deadline for takeover bids for its Polish business as it is still negotiating with Spain-based Banco Santander SA over the renewal of a key distribution deal in Poland, sources told Reuters, noting that the deadline could be moved again if an agreement is not reached. The unit, estimated to be worth approximately €2 billion, has so far reportedly attracted bids from Netherlands-based NN Group NV, Italy's Assicurazioni Generali SpA and Germany-based Allianz SE.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the EU could risk financial stability if it pursues plans to relocate the "eye-wateringly" large euro clearing business in London to the bloc.
* Prosecutors in Frankfurt are probing BaFin's supervision of Wirecard AG, showing up unannounced at the German financial regulator's office yesterday to deliver a letter requesting information, Reuters reported. The move comes after complaints against BaFin's perceived lack of oversight of the collapsed payments group. No formal criminal investigation has been opened yet.
* Edgar Ernst, president of Germany's Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel, will step down by 2021-end in the wake of the accounting scandal at Wirecard, the Financial Times reported.
* George Zavvos, Greece's deputy finance minister, said the government is in negotiations with the EU over an 18-month extension to the Hercules asset protection scheme, which helps banks reduce their stock of problem loans in their balance sheets, Reuters reported.
* The Russian central bank has set up a working group on sustainable development and is hiring lawyers and economic experts specializing in ESG principles, Kommersant reported.
Erin Tanchico, Arno Maierbrugger, Meike Wijers, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Stéphanie Salti, Praxilla Trabattoni and Nelson Siqueira contributed to this report.
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