Appointments
First Horizon Bank has promoted Catherine Wood to Senior Vice President, Head of Commercial…
Allianz Partners, a world leader in B2B2C insurance and assistance, has appointed Carsten Staat…
Income Insurance Limited has announced the appointment of Lim Sim Seng as Chairman of…
The former Deutsche Bank dealmaker brings over 25 years of experience as Standard Chartered…
Speaking at the Swiss Economic Forum, Ermotti addressed his own tenure as the bank…
Banking
India is preparing a common customer identification system that will let individuals access banking and insurance services without repeatedly submitting the same identity documents. The upgraded framework, known as Central Know Your Customer 2.0 (CKYC), is expected to launch for banks and insurance companies in August 2026. Mutual funds, brokerages and other capital-market institutions are likely to join later in the year once sector-specific requirements are finalised. Under the new process, financial institutions will retrieve verified customer information from a central registry after obtaining the customer’s consent through a one-time password. Customers will not need to complete a fresh verification process each time they approach another participating institution. The central registry reportedly holds approximately 1.2 billion customer records. The upgraded platform will attach a confidence score to each record, indicating the quality, accuracy and verification status of the stored information. This is intended to address earlier concerns over inconsistent or outdated customer data. The system is expected to reduce duplication, accelerate account opening and make it easier for customers to purchase insurance, invest in mutual funds or access other financial products. Real-time updates could also ensure that changes made with one institution are reflected across the central database. Regulators believe the framework could strengthen fraud prevention and improve the monitoring of suspicious customer activity. Easier access to reliable records may also help institutions improve customer due diligence and comply with anti-money laundering requirements. The initiative is being coordinated by financial regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the insurance regulator. Successful implementation will depend on data accuracy, customer consent controls, cybersecurity and safeguards for personal information. The Herald View: The technology story here is small, one metadata field per record. The trust story is large. India didn’t lack a customer database; it lacked a reason to believe it. A confidence score is a quiet admission that in identity infrastructure, credibility, not coverage, is the binding…
Standard Bank, Africa’s largest lender by assets, processed RMB3.39 billion ($500…
Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: FULT) has completed the merger of Blue…
ING is acquiring approximately 40% of Spanish wealth manager Singular Bank,…
Nu Mexico has received authorization from the National Banking and Securities…
Emirates NBD is the first bank in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye…
Standard Bank, Africa’s largest lender by assets, processed RMB3.39 billion ($500 million) in transactions…
Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: FULT) has completed the merger of Blue Foundry Bank into…
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has launched the Philippines’ first rail fare collection system…
Payments & Cards
The Vietnamese tech firm and Singapore lender plan to finalise pilot scope and roadmap within 90 days UOB has signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese technology provider FPT Corporation to modernise how banking services are developed, delivered and scaled across UOB’s core markets, using AI, data analytics, automation, cloud infrastructure and APIs. The agreement also aims to create a platform through which UOB, FPT and broader ecosystem partners can turn innovation priorities into scalable business opportunities, with a focus on supporting cross-border financial services and interconnected financial ecosystems. The two companies said the detailed plan, including pilot scope, implementation roadmap, governance model and expected outcomes, will be finalised within 90…
Wall Street bank among first in the sector to adopt the technology widely as global lenders reshape workforces around AI JPMorgan is implementing AI tools across its investment banking business globally, the bank’s Asia investment banking head said on Thursday, making it among the first in the sector to adopt the technology widely. “We are in the early phase adopting AI tools throughout our investment banking business globally but are excited by the developments,” Paul Uren, JPMorgan’s Asia Pacific head of investment banking, told Reuters. Global banks are increasing investment in AI, reshaping their workforces and driving changes in job roles. Earlier the same day, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told Bloomberg News that the bank would hire more AI specialists and fewer traditional bankers. The comments follow rival Standard Chartered’s move to cut nearly 8,000 staff by 2030 as it expands its use of AI. “Our AI tools enable us to access more information and quickly synthesize it with our internal systems,” Uren said, without specifying which AI tools bankers were using. “We’re finding that AI streamlines the preparation of content and materials, as well as helping bankers engage with more clients more efficiently,” he added. JPMorgan is among select organizations permitted by AI startup Anthropic to use its Mythos cybersecurity model under the company’s controlled “Project Glasswing” initiative. According to Anthropic, Mythos is capable of detecting decades-old vulnerabilities in web browsers, infrastructure and software — a capability that has raised concerns among cybersecurity experts that it could enable more sophisticated cyberattacks, posing a risk to a banking industry reliant on legacy technology. Apart from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have access to, or are testing, Mythos, Reuters reported, citing sources and company…
Mergers & Acquisitions
The deal brings a two-million-user youth banking platform into Barclays UK, with US…
Raiffeisen Bank International has now received acceptances covering more than half of Addiko’s…
Commerzbank says no institutional investor has tendered shares into the €40 billion offer;…
Finance Minister Jan Jambon opted for a private sale over an IPO, citing…
The deal gives Scotiabank FDIC deposit insurance to support its Mortgage Capital Markets…
Wealth & Investment
HSBC is selling its A$36 billion ($25.30 billion) Australian home and personal loan book to…
Citi has hired Rohan Sen from Bank of America to lead its coverage of the…
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is pressing corporate leaders to join a US-focused group built…
Bank of America has agreed to acquire information security specialist MDSec Consulting Limited, adding technical…
Manulife has promoted Carrie Tong to Chief Distribution Officer for Hong Kong and Macau, putting…