Asia Banking
Singapore’s lender OCBC warns of slower loan growth in 2025 after missing profit estimates
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Singapore’s second-largest lender, has forecast a slowdown in loan growth for 2025 following a weaker-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter earnings.
Hacker targets Indonesian banks with ransomware threats
Bjorka, the hacker who previously made headlines in Indonesia during 2022 and 2023, has resurfaced, now using an X account to warn that several major Indonesian private and state-owned banks are potential targets of ransomware attacks
Russia’s Mir cards remain an open question in India
Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar has expressed optimism about Indian financial institutions adopting Moscow’s Mir payments system and Russian banks adopting New Delhi’s RuPay payments system
Reserve Bank of India resumes bond purchases after three years to manage liquidity
The Reserve Bank of India conducted net purchases of government bonds in the secondary market last week.
Cost of repairing Syria’s power infrastructure put at $40bn by electricity minister
Production facilities, transmission points, high voltage lines and distribution networks “ruined”, he says.
Indian banks' profitability to moderate in FY26
Indian banks' profitability is expected to moderate in FY26, following an inflexion point in FY25, largely due to delinquencies stemming from over-leveraging in unsecured assets and rising unsecured credit costs.
Former chief of the Bank of Japan sees more rate hikes on the horizon
The Bank of Japan is expected to continue raising interest rates in the coming years as inflation shows signs of sustainably reaching the central bank’s 2% target, according to former Governor Haruhiko Kuroda
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway officially launched, but sidetracked at least until summer
Project moving forward under yellow signal.
BRICS bank chief touts Uruguay membership in Montevideo talks
Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who chairs the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), urged Uruguay to join the institution during talks with President-elect Yamandú Orsi.
Iran central bank blocks crypto payments amid industry backlash
Iran's Central Bank abruptly blocked payment gateways for cryptocurrency exchanges, triggering sharp criticism from the country's digital assets industry.
World Bank approves $350mn as Tajikistan bids to fund completion of $6.3bn Rogun mega hydro project
Funding agreed despite environmentalists warning “biggest dam in the world” investment “will turn into a nightmare”.
South Korea’s won slides as martial law crisis sparks market turmoil
South Korea’s financial markets have been shaken by political uncertainty following President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief declaration of martial law, sending the local currency and stock prices into a tailspin
Trump threatens BRICS with tariffs if they dump the dollar
US President-elect Donald Trump has warned the BRICS countries they will be hit with 100% tariffs if they attempt to set up an alternative currency to the dollar to settle trade deals.