Regulation

ANZ obtains approval for retail launch in India

Thu, Mar, 4 2010

(Free) ANZ has obtained in-principle approval for an international banking licence in India, paving the way for the bank to re-enter the country for the first time since it sold Grindlays Bank in 2000.

CARD Act shifts power back to consumers, insists Obama

Sun, Feb, 28 2010

(Free) The US Credit Card Accountability and Disclosure (CARD) Act, one of the most significant pieces of card-related reform in recent years, came into effect on 22 February. The legislation has been hailed by US President Barack Obama as helping to shift the balance of power back to consumers

Mexico to regulate bank fees

Mon, Feb, 15 2010

(Free) Mexico’s lower house of Congress has approved legislation giving the country’s central bank the power to establish the interest rates banks pay on deposits and charge on loans, banning some fees altogether, and requiring lenders to offer a basic credit card with a credit limit of no more than MXP11,500 ($892).

ING battles EC bank rescue plan

Wed, Feb, 10 2010

(Free) ING and the Dutch government have launched an appeal against restructuring measures imposed on the bank by the European Commission.

US card companies 'dodging reform'

Wed, Jan, 20 2010

US credit card companies are imposing hidden charges and deceptive fees, according to a report from consumer advocacy non-profit organisation the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

EU ends ING’s global ambitions

Wed, Oct, 28 2009

(Free) Having spent the past decade trying to convince its stakeholders of the virtues of the bancassurance model, Dutch-headquartered ING is to focus on its banking unit, a result of a harsher than expected restructuring plan foisted on the bank by the European Union (EU) Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

The state of the European marketplace

Wed, Oct, 28 2009

a major new report for VRL, financial consultant Chris Skinner examines the evolution of the Payment Services Directive and Single European Payments Area. The result of this research has conclusively proved what had anecdotally been suspected – that the programmes are on track, but the route has gone off course.

Three more Nigerian bank chiefs bite the dust

Wed, Oct, 14 2009

(Free) Having completed the second and final phase of its audit of the Nigerian banking sector in an attempt to restore financial stability to the industry, the country’s central bank (CBN) has dismissed the managing directors and executive directors of three banks – Bank PHB, Equitorial Trust Bank and Spring Bank – which it said were in a “grave situation” seven weeks after similar sanctions were applied to senior management at five banks (see RBI 618).

Canadian banks battle fresh insurance curbs

Wed, Oct, 14 2009

(Free) To the universal horror of the Canadian banking sector, the country’s finance minister, Jim Flaherty, has signalled his intention to prevent banks marketing insurance products online, a policy at odds with the country’s bank regulator who ruled the practice legal as recently as June.

Dutch state takes control of DSB Bank

Tue, Oct, 13 2009

(Free) DSB Bank, a mid-tier Dutch retail bank with a 0.5 percent share of mortgages and 15 percent share of consumer loans, has been taken over by the Dutch central bank after it had failed to sell the lender to a consortium of local banks. DSB had €8 billion ($11.9 billion) in assets.