ICICI Bank has led a consortium of banks to launch a US$2 billion infrastructure debt fund to help meet India's vast infrastructure requirements.

IFA Galaxy has appointed a new president.

The Indian government launched the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS), which offers a 50% tax deduction of the amount invested into certain specified equity investments, up to a maximum amount of INR 50,000 (~ USD 1,000) for first time retail investors who have annual incomes of less than INR 10 lakhs (~ USD 20,000).

Both Lombard Odier and Pictet Group have announced their intentions to transform themselves into what is known under Swiss law as “sociétés en commandite par actions de droit Suisse”, or corporate partnership.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has banned two financial advisers at two different organisations from re-entering the industry for life.

The board of directors of VP Bank has elected Alfred W. Moeckli as the group’s new chief executive officer.

The Royal Bank of Scotland and Income Partners Asset Management have launched a new bond fund to meet demand for higher-yielding investments, in particular Asian high yield.

Earlier this week Guernsey signed new tax agreements with Singapore and Brazil – the former a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA), and the latter a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA).

Hong Kong’s banking and securities regulators are urging licensed corporations to be vigilant in the supervision of their operations and personnel, in order to guard against the risk of misappropriation of client assets.

BlackRock’s January report on the exchange-traded product (ETP) industry has revealed a continuation of the record-breaking success seen in 2012.

LGBT Capital and Hong Kong IFA Financial Partners has launched LGBT Wealth, the first wealth management operation dedicated to providing specialist services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender (LGBT) community in Asia.

BMO Financial Group has appointed Robert Cormie as regional vice president and managing director of its private banking business in Asia.

Crédit Agricole (Suisse), operating as Crédit Agricole Private Banking in Asia, has announced a series of important leadership changes to support its growth across the region.

Vistra, a global provider of trust, fiduciary, corporate and fund services, has acquired BSI’s Singapore Trust business – BSI Trust Corporation (Singapore) Limited.

Australian-based wealth management firm Easton Investments has purchased a 19.9% equity stake in AAM Advisory, one of Singapore’s leading expat-focused financial advisory firms.

A report from LGT Private Banking has shown that Hong Kong investors tend to have much higher risk appetite and investment knowledge than their counterparts in Switzerland and Singapore.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a series of notices requiring financial institutions to submit reports to both the regulator and the police, upon discovery of any suspicious activities and incidents of fraud.

The ground-breaking tax agreement between the UK and Switzerland, signed in October 2011, has delivered CHF500 million (US$550 million) to the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) since it came into effect on 1 January 2013.

The global exchange-traded product (ETP) industry surpassed the milestone figure earlier this month of US$2 trillion in assets under management, according to BlackRock.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has agreed an enforceable undertaking with Macquarie Equities following the discovery of recurring compliance deficiencies.

Investment management firm BNY Mellon has hired Eric Fu as a managing director within its intermediary distribution team.

Aberdeen Islamic Asset Management has launched two Shariah unit trust funds for the Malaysian market.

Jeong Hoon Lee has joined BlackRock as head of alternative investment strategy group for North Asia.

Private banking veteran Eric Morin has joined Bank Sarasin as managing director and chief executive officer for its Singapore branch and South-east Asia.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced plans to introduce a mainland-Hong Kong mutual recognition of funds – creating a platform which is likely to be the largest in Asia, and could bring various advantages to both mainland China and Hong Kong.

European asset manager M&G Investments has appointed Raphael Jaggy as business manager for Asia, based in Singapore.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has released its final report on Suitability Requirements with respect to the Distribution of Complex Financial Products, detailing new recommendations on the distribution of complex financial products to retail and non-retail customers.

Credit Suisse has appointed Neil Harvey as chief executive officer (CEO) in Hong Kong and co-CEO for Greater China. He will share his Greater China CEO responsibilities with Liping Zhang, who will maintain his position as vice chairman, global investment banking.

The Indian government has hiked import duty from 4% to 6% and has proposed to link gold ETFs to gold deposits.