Foreign news: HSBC could move headquarters away from UK, BNY Mellon fined in the UK, Industrial and

Banking Day staff
  • HSBC chairman Douglas Flint hinted at a meeting in Hong Kong that the bank could move its headquarters away from the United Kingdom, reports the Guardian. NSBC has traditionally reviewed its head office location every three years but has delayed the next review indefinitely in the face of regulatory changes being introduced by the UK Government. "We are beginning to see the final shape of regulation, the final shape of structural reform and as soon as that mist lifts sufficiently, we will once again start to look at where the best place for HSBC is," said Flint.
  • The UK Financial Conduct Authority fined Bank of New York Mellon Group £126 million for failure to comply with rules for the safeguarding of client assets. The bank failed to apply the FCA's custody rules on a legal entity basis, which led to a series of regulatory failures.
  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China New Zealand has made a tiny dent in New Zealand's mortgage market with lending of NZ$11.2 million in home loans in the 12 months to December 31, according to a disclosure statement lodged with the Companies Office. NZ Herald reports the loans funded the purchase of about 19 Auckland houses, based on the median price in the city of $720,000 and borrowers having 20 per cent equity. According to RBNZ, New Zealand's total mortgage lending runs to more than $200 billion.
  • Shinhan Bank, part of Shinhan Financial Group, received regulatory approval from the financial services authority of Indonesia to buy 40 percent of Indonesia's Bank Metro Express, more than two years after the South Korean lender signed a deal for the purchase of the stake. Indonesia's Bank Metro Express is a small bank with a 19-channel network, it has only 0.38 per cent of non-performing loans, but also numerous loyal small and medium sized corporate customers.