FinTech Consortium, which runs fintech hubs in New York and Singapore, has been appointed to operate a planned new fintech hub in Bahrain, reports Finextra. Backed by the Bahraini government and the region's central bank, the hub hopes to attract international corporate innovation labs and fintech start-ups. Nearly a year after signing a tie-up with Visa, China's UnionPay says it has reached nearly 100 per cent penetration of US ATMs, and over 80 per cent penetration of US retail outlets, reports Caixin. UnionPay said its strong presence in the US would help it target Chinese travelling to US (an estimated three million Chinese travelled there last year, up 15 per cent from 2015). The US Justice Department and the FBI are investigating leading European banks BNP Parabas, Credit Suisse and VTB for allegedly aiding corruption in Mozambique, reports the Wall Street Journal. They are investigating the banks' roles in selling about US$2 billion of debt for Mozambique as part of a global inquiry into the suspect bond deals. Former Lloyds CEO Eric Daniels said he was told by Bank of England officials in 2008 that HBOS was facing imminent nationalisation unless Lloyds stepped in to buy it, reports the FT. Daniels was testifying on the first day of a high Court trial. Investors are suing him and five former directors who claim they were never told of the state of HBOS before the 2008 acquisition. Daniels said the government was "clearly concerned" at the time that the financial system could freeze up, but he insisted that there was "real value in HBOS."