More than US$1.1 billion in penalties were handed out in 2012 for violations relating to anti-money laundering (AML), according to BankersAccuity.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reprimanded and fined Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong) HK$1.6 million (US$206,000) for regulatory breaches and internal control failings relating to position limit failures.

Deutsche Bank has established one of the largest custodial and vaulting services for gold at the Singapore Freeport.

Banking software solutions provider Avaloq has announced plans to open a local BPO centre for the Asian wealth management market, in a joint venture with a local financial institution. 



Lyxor Asset Management has appointed Gilbert Tse as head of its Asian business.

Maybank has launched a new branded segment offering, designed to cater to customers in the growing affluent segment in Malaysia.

Austria-based Raiffeisen Bank International has converted its Hong Kong representative office to a branch.

In response to market demand for volatility indices tracking more asset classes, S&P Dow Jones Indices has launched an Emerging Markets Volatility Short-Term Futures Index.

CIMB group - along with PwC, Accenture, DraftFCB, Teach for Malaysia, HP and ZICOlaw - has launched a new programme that helps local graduates broaden their knowledge and cultivate varied skill-sets.

Global asset manager TCW Group has opened an office in Hong Kong. The announcement follows the completion of the acquisition of TCW from Societe Generale by TCW management and The Carlyle Group in February.

Eastspring Investments has appointed Koh Hui-Jian as head of retail sales to cover Hong Kong, Singapore and offshore sales across Asia.

Asia experienced the greatest growth in wealth globally in 2012, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) - with wealth managers in Asia achieving the strongest growth in AUM.

Jacqueline Dong has joined Bank Julius Baer as team head and senior relationship manager for the China market.

BlackRock's iShares ETF business is expanding its fixed income ETF product offering with the launch of Asia's first offshore RMB-denominated bond ETF in Hong Kong.

New research from Julius Baer has highlighted the growing consumption of luxury goods, as well as a preference for quality over brand names.

Manulife has appointed Lawrence Nutting as chief distribution officer for Hong Kong.

From 1 July 2013, life insurance companies in Singapore will be required to use lower investment returns in benefit illustrations for Singapore-dollar denominated participating (Par) policies.

SBI Funds Management has announced its intention to acquire all of the existing India domiciled funds Daiwa Asset Management, subject to regulatory approval.

In line with original integration plans, the transfer of Merrill Lynch's international wealth management businesses in Hong Kong and Singapore to Julius Baer's existing entities have begun.

In a new, proprietary survey on best practices in using investment data to drive revenue, stay compliant, increase efficiencies and provide a differentiated service - banks face multiple challenges that hold them back from being as productive as they could be.

The Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) in Singapore has proposed revisions to the Financial Industry Competency Standards (FICS), following a year-long review.

As part of its upcoming merger with Bank J. Safra, Bank Sarasin has appointed Edmond Michaan, current chief executive officer of Bank J. Safra, as chief executive officer; and Eric G. Sarasin, current head of Bank Sarasin's private banking division, as deputy chief executive officer.

Family firms in Singapore face increasing difficulties when it comes to passing the business onto the next generation, according to a new family business study.

RBC Wealth Management has identified shadow banking as a major concern for China, as it could not only affect the development of the country's property market, but could also be bad news for individual investors.

McKinsey & Company has identified a number of IT-enabled business trends that will be of utmost importance for senior management everywhere.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has banned Alex Chow Ho Kuen, a former customer services manager of Hang Seng Bank, from re-entering the industry for life.

Global investment advisory firm Cambridge Associates is now offering discretionary portfolio management (DPM) services in Singapore.

China's 15 richest women have a combined wealth of over US$30 billion, with 11 of them being entrepreneurs, according to new research published by Wealth-X.

China’s first cross-border ETF, based on the NASDAQ-100 Index, has begun trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.