Payments & Settlements

Structural Regulation

RBI Grants Exemptions to Small Finance Banks

By Editors | 02/04/2020

Existing small finance banks will not need prior RBI approval to undertake non-risk sharing simple financial service activities or open banking outlets in unbanked rural centres.

KYC & CDD

BSP Relaxes KYC Norms During Covid-19 Lockdown

By Editors | 01/04/2020

The move will facilitate the delivery of welfare funds to beneficiaries who have no available valid IDs or transactional account with any financial institution.

Structural Regulation

Xiaomi-backed Virtual Bank Launches Hong Kong Pilot

By Editors | 31/03/2020

The pilot will allow 2,000 friends and relatives of Airstar, Xiaomi and AMTD Group employees to trial new virtual banking services under the HKMA’s sandbox.

Payments & Settlements

Fed Establishes Repo Facility to Ease USD Funding Stress

By Editors | 31/03/2020

Foreign central banks can temporarily exchange their US Treasury holdings with the Fed for US dollars, which can then be made available to institutions in their own jurisdictions.

Liquidity Risk

BOK to Provide Banks $12b in USD Funding This Week

By Editors | 30/03/2020

The move is expected to help stabilise US dollar funding markets,  after the BOK signed a $60bn currency swap agreement with the US Federal Reserve earlier this month.

Liquidity Risk

BOK Promises “Unlimited Liquidity” for Financial Firms

By Editors | 26/03/2020

South Korean authorities will also reduce the amount of high-quality foreign assets banks need to hold to free up additional US dollar liquidity.

Liquidity Risk

MAS Offers Banks US Dollar Funding

By Editors | 26/03/2020

Banks are “strongly encouraged” to avail themselves of MAS liquidity facilities so that they can better serve customers.

Structural Regulation

ZA Bank Announces Launch as Hong Kong’s First Virtual Bank

By Editors | 25/03/2020

ZA Bank – backed by mainland insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance and Sinolink Group – won one of the first approvals to set up a virtual bank in March last year.

Clearing & Post-Trade

ASX to Delay Implementation of CHESS Replacement

By Editors | 25/03/2020

ASX will launch a public consultation in June on a new timetable for its CHESS replacement project, amid uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic.