Managers of Wealth Asia Pacific

Board of Australia's Westpac 'unreservedly apologises' over money-laundering

The notion that any child has been hurt as a result of any failings by Westpac is deeply distressing and we are truly sorry.

Jail for company director who sold luxury goods to North Korea, cheated banks of $130m

Another 140 charges of a similar nature were taken into consideration

MAS mulls regulating trade of payment token derivatives

MAS said it still does not view payment token derivatives to be suitable for retail investors to trade.

BCBS Examines Evolution, Risks of Open Banking

The report highlights that while a number of jurisdictions have adopted or are considering adopting open banking frameworks, these frameworks vary across jurisdictions in terms of stage of development, approach and scope.

Wirecard says 2017 audit of Singapore unit not concluded due to probe

Wirecard's shares have whipsawed after several media reports raised questions about accounting methods, all of which the company has rejected.

ASPAC LIBOR Readiness Report

KPMG member firms across the region recently surveyed more than 20 large banks in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore on their readiness for the LIBOR transition.

MAS consults on relaxing restrictions on payment token deriviative

Payment tokens and their derivatives are, however, not suitable for most retail investors

CGS-CIMB Securities launches prime services platform for boutique funds

Flexible account structures enable synthetic access to restricted markets and hard-to-borrow securities as well as access to cash markets with optimised lending and solutions for financing and asset protection.

Trends in offshore law and developments in Hong Kong: Q&A with Nicholas Plowman

The more recent Hong Kong protests are yet to have an impact on our workflows

Softbank in talks to take over KPMG’s private members’ club

The Big Four audit firm is now planning to write to all of the club’s 6,000 members to tell them their membership will end on 1 March, the FT reported.

Ant May Join Race for Singapore Virtual Bank Licenses

Singapore’s efforts to open up the banking industry to technology companies comes on the heels of a similar move in Hong Kong

Askari Bank Selects Finastra to Power its Trade Finance Business

Fusion Trade Innovation to automate end-to-end trade finance operations and generate new revenue streams

Thailand trials blockchain to boost cross-border trade

The tech aims to increase the efficiency of trades by reducing processing cost and time.

Westpac faces fines over 'serious and systemic' anti-money laundering breaches, AUSTRAC says

Among the serious breaches alleged, AUSTRAC says Westpac failed to "carry out appropriate due diligence on customers sending money to the Philippines and South East Asia for known child exploitation risks".

Fund managers outside Asia starting to rethink positions

The protests in Hong Kong have taken a very violent turn, and talking to my colleagues out there gives me a sense that we are seeing a radicalisation of the protest movement, which is not widely supported.

National Australia Bank joins Marco Polo blockchain trade finance network

Cathryn Carver from NAB said: “With trade practices evolving rapidly, NAB is focused on increasing efficiencies through trade process digitization.”

Wells Fargo AM readies five products in Hong Kong

Despite Hong Kong sliding into recession amid ongoing social unrest, firms continue to launch products to the SAR’s retail investors.

Asian Development Bank to hike lending rates for China

Beijing's financial clout in Asia and Africa spurs calls for higher contributions

Harneys named Best Offshore Law Firm – Client Service by HFM Asia

The award affirms the strength and reputation of Harneys’ Asia funds practice, which is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing offshore funds teams in the region.

AUSTRAC Commences Legal Action Against Westpac for AML Breaches

These AML/CTF laws are in place to protect Australia’s financial system

Legal, Regulation & Compliance