Briefs: Asian mobility, Philippines opens up and more

A study by consultancy McKinsey & Co shows that 700 million clients used online banking regularly in 13 Asian countries in 2014. In developed Asian markets, internet banking is now near universal and smartphone banking has grown more than threefold since 2011. In emerging Asia traditional channels, especially automated teller machines (ATMs), still dominate, but customers are using the internet and smartphone banking almost five times more often than in 2011.

Seven more Asian banks are primed to start operating in the Philippines, taking advantage of the recent removal of restrictions on foreign participation in the financial sector. Asiaone reports that two banks from the Asia-Pacific region have submitted formal applications for regulatory approval while five more are in various stages of seeking the go-ahead to enter the market.

Citigroup Inc. is ending its investment in Akbank TAS, Turkey's second-largest bank by market value, at a loss of US$800 million on the value of its 2007 purchase, Bloomberg reports. The U.S.-based lender sold all of its remaining 9.9 per cent holding in the Istanbul-based bank for $1.15 billion. The bank negotiated an early exit from a three-year lockup agreement it signed with Akbank's main owner, Sabanci Holding, when it sold an almost equivalent stake for the same amount in 2012.

Deutsche Bank does not need to change its universal banking model dramatically despite facing pressure to cut costs like the rest of the banking sector, reports Channel News Asia. Co-CEO Juergen Fitschen said: "we have a strong tendency to continue to support the universal banking model, I don't think that you have to expect that we must make dramatic changes." Germany's largest bank is carrying out a strategic review that is expected to see it trim overheads and sharpen its focus on profitable business niches.