Foreign news: Rakyat banks collaborate, new climate bonds standard for buildings, Chinese lenders to 04 June 2015 4:38PM Banking Day staff Foreign news, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia plans to expand its services to Indonesia by joining up with Bank Rakyat Indonesia. Under the proposed arrangement, customers from both banks will be able to access services in each other's respective home territories, the Star Media group reports. The Indonesian workforce in Malaysia totals 2.5 million, and there are 20,000 automated teller machines across Indonesia that could be used by visiting Malaysians to carry out their financial transactions. The Climate Bonds Standard for Low Carbon Buildings was officially launched overnight in London. The standard was developed by the Low Carbon Property Technical Working Group of 17 international experts, sponsored by the Bank of America Foundation. To qualify as suitable for climate bonds, buildings must be in the top 15 per cent of performers in a city when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, or achieve deep cuts in emissions when energy efficiency investments are made. The first green bond certified under the new Low Carbon Buildings standard was issued by ANZ last week. New Delhi Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he expected the Reserve Bank of India to grant a payment license to the proposed Post Bank of India by July or August this year. The central bank issued final guidelines in November last year for setting up of payment banks to offer savings accounts and remittance services to low income households, small businesses and other unorganised sector entities. China's central bank is allowing lenders to issue certificates of deposits to individuals and companies. Bloomberg reports such certificates, known as CDs, are tradable deposit agreements that give China's savers more options and lenders more ways to attract deposits. According to the Peoples Bank of China the minimum size for individuals will be 300,000 yuan and ten million yuan for corporates. Interest rates for CDs can be fixed or floating, and some of the instruments can be bought or sold back to the issuer or to third parties. Citi has appointed Aftab Ahmed as country head for the Philippines. He replaces Batara Sianturi who has been named as Indonesia country head, reports FinanceAsia. Ahmed has spent 39 years at the bank after starting as an executive trainee. He is currently the country officer for Hungary and region head for the Balkan and Baltic regions in Central and Eastern Europe. In his new role, Ahmed will oversee a growing hub of centres providing services to Citi subsidiaries and branches in most regions. HSBC is likely to announce thousands of job cuts as part of CEO Stuart Gulliver's overhaul of Europe's biggest bank. Sky News, citing insiders, reports the bank is likely to shed between 10,000 and 20,000 jobs. Gulliver will lay out his plans, including the possible sale of operations in Brazil and Turkey, at an investor presentation on 9 June. Gulliver was appointed CEO in 2011 and has axed more than 50,000 jobs at the bank as part of a restructuring.