Capital Regulation

Nine major Hong Kong banks have pledged to help SME customers that encounter financial difficulties by adopting accommodative lending policies.

Through an exchange of letters, Japan’s FSA and the EU’s SRB have agreed to cooperate to plan for and conduct orderly cross-border resolutions of banks.

The clarification is important for new rules that will impose a cap on investments in non-standard credit assets by banks’ wealth management products.

Effective immediately, foreign financial institutions can establish wholly-owned banks in China, which can be operated alongside foreign bank branches and Sino-foreign joint venture banks.

A bank’s size and interconnectedness will be given greater importance in the assessment to determine its systemic importance in the Philippines.

The first CCyB cut since 2015, the move is expected to free up between HKD 200-300 billion in the financial system and make it easier for banks to lend to SMEs.

The ACCC is commencing an inquiry to find out why banks are not fully passing on interest rate cuts to borrowers, and what prevents customers from switching to cheaper lenders.

Banks that present less risk, including foreign banks, will have reduced requirements. An idea to subject US branches of foreign banks to new liquidity requirements has also been dropped.

The revisions continue to prohibit proprietary trading, while providing greater clarity and certainty for activities allowed under the law.

Respondents to an April 2018 consultation strongly supported an increase in the compensation limit, among other proposals, which the SFC expects to implement in early 2020.