Category: Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered selects BearingPoint’s FiTAX as tax reporting solution

Standard Chartered has selected FiTAX, a solution from BearingPoint, as its global client tax reporting solution for QI, FATCA and AEoI/CRS reporting. International banking group Standard Chartered, founded in 1969, is with approximately 87,000 employees across offices in more than 60 countries one of the globe’s leading financial services institutions…. – Continue reading

Singapore’s central bank imposes penalties on Standard Chartered Bank, Trust

SINGAPORE, March 19 (Xinhua) — The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Monday it has imposed penalties of 5.2 million Singapore dollars (about 3.95 million U.S. dollars) on the Singapore branch of Standard Chartered Bank (SCBS), and 1.2 million Singapore dollars (about 0.91 million U.S. dollars) on Standard Chartered… – Continue reading

MAS issues stern money laundering warning; Jakarta starts StanChart probe

Private-bank assets held by StanChart in Channel island tax haven were moved to S’pore in 2015: report Singapore THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday declared its firm commitment to keeping the country’s financial centre clean and safeguarded from illicit activities. Singapore’s central bank and financial regulatory authority said… – Continue reading

StanChart said to be investigated over US$1.4bn Indonesian cash transfers from Guernsey to Singapore

Over 100 jurisdictions indicated they will sign up to a global framework for the exchange of tax data (CRS) at the start of 2016, but these won’t take effect in Singapore and Hong Kong until 2018 Regulators in Europe and Asia are believed to be investigating Standard Chartered – one… – Continue reading

Scrap high-denomination banknotes, urges ex-bank boss

Former Standard Chartered chief says eliminating €500, $100, SFr1,000 and £50 notes would prevent corrupt payments Governments should consider scrapping high denomination banknotes to combat financial crime and tax evasion, including paying tradespeople in cash, a former bank boss has said. Criminals move more than $2tn (£1.4tn) around the world… – Continue reading

China: offshore banks’ must reserve more yuan

China’s central bank said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on offshore banks’ domestic deposits, in what appears to be its latest attempt to stem speculation in the yuan and manage money flowing in and out of the country. Confusion over China’s foreign exchange policy… – Continue reading

China to start implementing RRR for offshore banks’ domestic deposits

China’s central bank said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on offshore banks’ domestic deposits, in what appears to be its latest attempt to stem speculation in the yuan and manage money flowing in and out of the country. Confusion over China’s foreign exchange policy… – Continue reading

China suspends forex business for some foreign banks: sources

China’s central bank has suspended at least three foreign banks from conducting some foreign exchange business until the end of March, three sources who had seen the suspension notices told Reuters on Wednesday. Included among the suspended services are liquidation of spot positions for clients and some other activities related… – Continue reading

Yuan Crunch Spurs Banks to Hoard Abroad as China Curbs Outflows

Chinese banks from Hong Kong to London are selling a record amount of yuan-denominated certificates of deposit as China takes steps to curb outflows of the currency. Sales jumped to an unprecedented 66.1 billion yuan ($10.2 billion) this month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That comes after Hong Kong’s pool… – Continue reading

Foreign Banks Pay To Avoid Tax Evasion Charges As More Americans Disclose Offshore Accounts

Lately, the IRS is warning offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the cost of compliance for many people is growing. The IRS updated its list of foreign banks where accounts trigger a… – Continue reading

Tata Steel to refinance $1.5bn offshore debt

Tata Steel’s Singapore arm T S Global Holdings Pte raised $1.5 billion debt to settle outstanding loans, the company said in a statement. Tata Steel group executive director-finance and corporate Kaushik Chatterjee said, “Tata Steel actively reviews all its financing options and seeks to continuously optimise its debt based on… – Continue reading

More than 50 banks which helped American clients dodge tax in Swiss bank accounts receive immunity from criminal prosecution in US

More than 50 banks which helped American clients dodge tax in Swiss bank accounts have received immunity from criminal prosecution in the US. The firms, which include UK giant Standard Chartered, Germany’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank, and France’s BNP Paribas, have reached plea bargains with the US Department of Justice…. – Continue reading

More Banks Spill Tax Evasion Secrets To Avoid Criminal Charges, Account Holders Beware

Lately, the IRS is warning offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the cost of compliance for many people is growing. The IRS updated its list of foreign banks where accounts trigger a… – Continue reading

Botswana: Bank Offers New Investment Product

Gaborone — Clients of Standard Chartered Bank Botswana should brace themselves for exciting times with the launch of the offshore fixed income proposition under its wealth management portfolio. Speaking at a breakfast launch with clients and media, the head of wealth management for Botswana and Southern Africa at Standard Chartered… – Continue reading

Challenges for family offices in emerging markets

Leading family offices in Latin America and the Caribbean are going through a transitional period, says Steven Cantor, managing partner of Cantor & Webb, a Miami-based law firm, reports the Financial Times. “As the world moves to tax transparency, with a crackdown on undisclosed tax savings in Swiss bank accounts,… – Continue reading

Chinese bond investors move offshore

Beijing’s monetary easing has sent onshore yields to multiyear lows, reports the Wall Street Journal. China’s booming domestic debt market is pushing investors to seek higher yields offshore, just as its banks start to expand yuan lending world-wide. The shift comes as China’s central bank is selling its first yuan… – Continue reading

London Wants to Become the Center of Chinese Currency Trading

Three years ago, Chinese officials said U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron had “seriously damaged” relations by meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader. As planned talks between the two countries were canceled or failed to take place, worries emerged that Britain would miss out on building deeper economic… – Continue reading

China central bank hires banks for its debut dim sum bond in London-term sheet

[HONG KONG] China’s central bank has hired banks to arrange its debut offshore yuan bond issuance in London, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Monday. The so-called dim sum bond sale comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares for a state visit to Britain this week. Sources… – Continue reading

DBS China picked to test yuan payment system

DBS Bank’s Chinese unit has been chosen to be among the first group of banks to test a new international payment system that promises faster transactions for businesses using the yuan. The Cross-border International Payment System (CIPS), launched yesterday, is seen as a big step towards making the yuan a… – Continue reading

UK banks brace for tax showdown

Unpredictable and excessive taxes are pushing the British banking sector to the brink, according to a major new report by a leading industry body, reports City AM. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and PwC reveal that the UK banking sector contributed an estimated total of £31.3bn in taxes last year,… – Continue reading

UK BUDGET PREVIEW: Osborne Seen Addressing Banking Levy And Non-Doms

LONDON (Alliance News) – The UK Budget to be outlined by Chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday is set to include a pledge to re-examine the banking levy, a crackdown on non-domiciles, and a relaxation of Sunday trading hours, along with controversial plans to slash around GBP12 billion from the UK’s… – Continue reading

UK’s slimmer banks slip down global league table

British banks have fallen down world league tables for lenders so rapidly that there may soon not be a global-ranked bank in this country, the editor of the industry bible has warned, reports the Independent. “At one time several UK banks were among a handful of truly global players,” said… – Continue reading

Dubai: Shrinking western banks prompt DIFC to shift east

The Dubai International Financial Centre spent the first 10 years of its existence looking to banks in the West. It’s planning to spend the next decade looking East, reports the Gulf Times. DIFC, as the tax-free business park is called, became the Middle East’s biggest financial centre by attracting the… – Continue reading

Julius Baer Starts Probe Amid FIFA Corruption Allegations

Julius Baer of Switzerland became the latest bank to start an internal probe of money transfers linked to an investigation of FIFA, world soccer’s ruling body. Julius Baer joined banks including the U.K.’s Standard Chartered Plc in reporting that it began an inquiry. The Zurich-based firm was named as one… – Continue reading

HSBC, JPMorgan may move parts of businesses to Luxembourg – The Times

HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co are in talks to relocate parts of their businesses to Luxembourg from the UK as they weigh the possibility of a British exit from the European Union, the Times reported. JPMorgan is close to setting up a bank based in Luxembourg to… – Continue reading

REUTERS SUMMIT-Private bankers cautious over China onshore strategy

(Reuters) – Some large wealth managers feel the time is not ripe to start an onshore private bank in China, despite steps taken by Beijing to open up its financial services industry. Ownership restrictions and a relatively less developed capital market are impediments for Citigroup to start onshore private banking… – Continue reading

Barclays, Standard Chartered investigating FIFA payments

Barclays has launched an internal review into whether its accounts were used for corrupt payments by FIFA officials, a banking source told AFP on Sunday. Standard Chartered has also said it was investigating payments cited in the US indictment. UK-headquartered Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC were among more than a… – Continue reading

UK offshore tax havens at heart of US investigation into World Cup corruption

British Virgin Islands, Caymans and Turks & Caicos feature heavily in justice department indictment of senior football officials British overseas tax havens play a key role in what US authorities have called “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted” corruption in the world of football, analysis by the Observer reveals. The 164-page US… – Continue reading

UK banks named in football bribery scandal: Barclays and HSBC ‘handled millions in suspect transactions’

■ Barclays and HSBC have been named in legal papers filed in the US ■ Documents have also named London-based Standard Chartered Bank ■ Allegedly moved suspect transactions linked to Fifa through their accounts ■ Britain’s Serious Fraud Office is understood to be monitoring situation Two of Britain’s biggest High… – Continue reading

Banks’ profits recover, but they are paying less in corporation tax

Research shows corporation tax receipts from banks are lower than before crisis despite global tax payments staying constant Britain’s banks are paying far less in corporation tax to the Exchequer than before the crisis, despite their profits improving and global tax payments staying constant. Research from Cambridge Judge Business School… – Continue reading

Tax evasion: FBR probing Axact’s foreign assets, transactions

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided to launch an investigation into Axact Pakistan (Pvt) Limited’s assets in foreign countries, including the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, bank accounts, credit card transactions and internet marketing in and outside Pakistan. FBR’s subsidiary Directorate General Intelligence & Investigation… – Continue reading

Standard Chartered offshore RMB index drops in March

Banking multinational Standard Chartered’s renminbi Globalization Index (RGI) fell to 2,117 in March, down 1 percent from the previous month, the bank announced on Thursday. Renminbi-denominated cross-border Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment was the only positive contributor to the RGI in March. Foreign exchange turnover, offshore renminbi… – Continue reading

HSBC Judge Seeks More Information About Sanctions Compliance

A federal judge demanded to know more about HSBC Holdings Plc’s compliance with its trade sanctions and anti-money-laundering deal with the U.S. after a monitor said the bank was “too slow” to mend its ways. U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn, New York, ordered the government to file a… – Continue reading

Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense – April 2015

In This Issue: • It’s Stifling in Here! SEC Rules That Companies Can’t Put Restrictive Language in Confidentiality Agreements That Could Potentially Stifle Whistleblowers • An Opinion on Opinions: U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Omnicare • Is OFAC the New Black? Schlumberger and PayPal—The Rise in the Enforcement of Sanctions… – Continue reading

Syndicated loan borrowings abroad fall as companies tap bonds for expansion

MUMBAI: India’s syndicated loan borrowing in overseas markets has collapsed in the January-March quarter as Indian companies have taken the bond route to fund their expansions, and investments are yet to pick up. Loans denominated in US dollar, Japanese yen or euro dropped 75 per cent year-on-year. India G3 syndicated… – Continue reading

European Banking Weekly Notes: HSBC, RBS and Barclays

European bank shares showed notable improvements in prices last week, benefiting from hopes of Greece evading a crisis coupled with continued strength in the U.S. dollar. Reports that Germany is looking to adopt a new law that will boost the capital position of the country’s banks helped Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB)… – Continue reading

Clearstream opens three new offshore RMB Cash Correspondent Bank accounts in Luxembourg, Singapore and Frankfurt

Clearstream now offers five offshore RMB accounts in four leading financial centres and will give customers more options and flexibility in managing offshore RMB liquidity Clearstream, the international central securities depository of Deutsche Börse Group, is making further progress in its Asia strategy: the company will open three new offshore… – Continue reading

Axis Bank may step up offshore investment banking as it aims to market bonds globally

MUMBAI: Axis Bank, the country’s third-biggest private sector lender, plans to step up offshore investment banking as it aims to market bonds globally amid rising corporate India’s interest in overseas markets. The bank, which has been topping the league table on bond sales, may also tie up with some international… – Continue reading

Emirates Investment Bank assets under management jump 81% to Dh7.7 billion

Emirates Investment Bank yesterday said its total assets under management jumped 81 per cent last year as the economy boomed and the UAE’s safe haven status continued to attract funds from politically troubled countries in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Total assets under management increased to… – Continue reading