IFR Magazine – January 20, 2018

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SEAN HECKER, LAWYER FOR FX TRADER ROBERT BOGUCKI, WHO HAS BEEN CHARGED BY THE DOJ, P19

China targets shadow banking

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Thomas Blott

AT EASE

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP

said it would stop reporting quarterly earnings,

surprising many analysts and reigniting a debate

over the value and cost of such updates. It is

the second major Australian bank to do so after

Westpac Banking Corp ended the practice in 2012.

The move comes as some countries look at

dropping requirements for quarterly reporting,

with Singapore launching a consultation on

the matter earlier this month. Some analysts

believe it will only be a matter of time before

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National

Australia Bank follow suit.

ANZ told Reuters it had received “strong

feedback” and had “unanimous” support from

the investment community for the move. “These

updates were helpful during the global financial

crisis, but, as the world’s economy settled down,

they have become less and less useful,” it said.

CASH CRUNCH

HNA GROUP chairman Chen Feng has expressed

confidence that China’s aviation-to-financial

services conglomerate will manage its cash

crunch and continue to receive support from

banks and other financial institutions this year.

The liquidity problem exists “because we made

a big number of mergers”, while China’s economy

“transitioned from rapid to moderate growth”,

impacting the group’s access to new financing,

Chen told Reuters in a rare meeting.

“Rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and

deleveraging in China caused a liquidity

shortage at the end of the year for many Chinese

enterprises. We’re confident we’ll move past these

difficulties and maintain sustained, healthy and

stable development.”

It was a rare acknowledgment by a top

company official that HNA is facing financing

problems. In recent weeks, local banks have

privately and publicly voiced concern after HNA

failed to repay some obligations, including aircraft

lease payments, and as surging debt drove up the

cost of the group’s short-term fundraising to new

highs.

POACHER TURNS POLICEMAN?

The senior non-executive director of MELROSE,

which last week made a £7.4bn hostile approach

for FTSE 100 engineer GKN, has been appointed

a deputy chairman of the UK Takeover Panel, the

body that polices takeover approaches.

Justin Dowley, who was vice-chairman of EMEA

investment banking at Nomura, will replace

David Challen, chairman of the EMEA governance

committee at Citigroup, the Takeover Panel said.

Dowley will take up his role on May 1, by which

time Melrose’s tilt at GKN should have been

decided.

„^ IN BRIEF