The ‘Great Lockdown’, A Crisis Like No Other: IMF

15/04/2020

The IMF estimates the cumulative loss to global GDP over 2020 and 2021 to be around $9tr, which is greater than the economies of Japan and Germany combined.

Securities / Derivatives

Banks Scrap Dividends, Buybacks Amid Regulatory Pressure

02/04/2020

HSBC and Standard Chartered are among the banks that have scrapped their 2019/2020 dividends and agreed not to buy back shares.

Big Picture

Short-selling Bans Fail to Achieve Positive Effects: WFE

31/03/2020

In Asia, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia have imposed short-selling bans, while Thailand, Taiwan and India have tightened their rules to make the practice more difficult.

Capital / Liquidity

PBOC Cuts Rates as Banks Prepare for More Bad Debt

31/03/2020

Small- and mid-sized banks are likely to struggle more as they have less capital in reserve and fewer state borrowers they can call on.

Capital / Liquidity

Malaysia: Lenders Need Not Assume Higher ECL for Rescheduled Debt

26/03/2020

Given that regulatory action is driving debt rescheduling, lenders need not simply assume lifetime expected credit losses under MFRS 9 are relevant for all receivables.

AML / KYC

Holding the Line on Ultimate Beneficial Ownership

24/03/2020

Financial institutions need to ensure that UBO information on customers is complete and accurate, but this is only half the battle, says Refinitiv’s Phillip Malcolm.

Securities / Derivatives

MAS Revises Code on Collective Investment Schemes

16/03/2020

The changes extend the requirements imposed on approved trustees and managers to VCCs, VCC directors and VCC custodians, while also introducing a best interest duty.

Big Picture

ASIFMA Calls for Global Coordination of Sustainability Efforts

03/03/2020

Fragmented approaches to sustainable finance may ultimately undermine the development of sustainable finance through increased complexity and lack of coordination.

AML / KYC

AML Controls Are Ineffective at Stopping Crime, Says Policy Expert

02/03/2020

Policy effectiveness expert Dr Ronald F Pol says the current anti-money laundering system only results in 0.1% of the proceeds of crime actually being seized.