banks

According to Bloomberg, AirTrunk, a data center operator under Blackstone Inc., has selected partner banks and plans to conduct a real estate investment trust (REIT) initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore.According to informed sources, the fundraising scale for this IPO is expected to be around $1.5 billion, with the listing work likely to be completed as early as this year. Currently, Citigroup Inc., DBS Group Holdings Ltd., and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. have been chosen to assist in preparing for the listing project.

According to Jinshi News, the Governor of the Bank of Thailand stated that banks will be allowed to issue Thai baht stablecoins this year.

According to Jinshi reports, the Federal Reserve stated that the banks tested were able to withstand losses of over $700 billion under hypothetical scenarios, with capital only declining by 1.6%, still above the minimum regulatory requirements.

According to CoinDesk, blockchain infrastructure company Chainlink Labs has announced that it will join an alliance composed of several banks that collectively manage assets exceeding $10 trillion, aiming to promote real-time cross-border foreign exchange payment settlements based on stablecoins within a year.The alliance is named "Project Pangea." Niki Ariyasinghe, Vice President of Chainlink for the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, stated in a video interview on Tuesday that the project aims to reshape the global foreign exchange market.In addition to Chainlink, the alliance also includes: a euro stablecoin consortium Qivalis supported by 37 European banks; and a Korean banking alliance UniKA representing more than 10 commercial banks.The goal of the project is to explore moving foreign exchange settlements from the traditional T+2 (48 hours after the transaction) cycle to an almost instantaneous T+0 settlement method, primarily relying on regulated euro and Korean won-pegged stablecoins—cryptocurrencies that are pegged 1:1 to the underlying fiat currency.

Aave founder Stani stated that he could accept the reserve requirement if the Bank of England (BoE) is willing to pay market rates on the 30% of base assets that need to be held at the central bank for systemic stablecoins. Previously, the BoE proposed that part of the reserves for systemic stablecoins should be held at the central bank to reduce risk; Stani's statement focuses on whether the passive deposit rates can cover the opportunity cost of these "locked" assets.

According to SBS Biz, in the past three years, overseas remittances through cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea have increased by 380%, while remittances through traditional banks have only grown by 20%. Last year, the total amount of foreign currency remittances from South Korea's five major banks was 159 trillion won (approximately 122 billion USD), an increase of 20% compared to 131.8 trillion won (approximately 101 billion USD) in 2022.At the same time, data from the office of Congressman Kim Sang-hoon shows that during the same period, the remittance amount through the five major won-denominated cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea surged from 34.02 trillion won (approximately 26.2 billion USD) to 163.55 trillion won (approximately 125.8 billion USD), an increase of 380%. Dongguk University professor Hwang Seok-jin attributes the significant growth in cryptocurrency remittances to their lower transaction fees compared to banks.

According to CoinDesk, Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank in the United States, announced the launch of a new platform to help banks issue and manage tokenized deposits.The platform provides banks with round-the-clock payment and settlement services through blockchain technology, without the need to replace existing core systems. The platform operates in a parallel layer, with Anchorage responsible for blockchain infrastructure, wallet management, and smart contract technology, while banks continue to maintain customer relationships and deposit custody.Currently, several large banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America, also plan to jointly establish a tokenized deposit network in the first half of 2027.

According to The Information, the prediction market platform Kalshi has annual revenue exceeding $2 billion and has begun early, informal discussions with several investment banks regarding its initial public offering (IPO).

According to Jinshi, large bank stocks in the United States generally rose, with Morgan Stanley up 2.6%, Goldman Sachs up 2.3%, and Citigroup up 1.8%.

According to Bitcoin.com, the Bank of Ghana has issued a mandatory directive requiring all regulated financial institutions to immediately cease support for unauthorized foreign currency digital wallet services provided by cryptocurrency platforms. The central bank stated that several cryptocurrency platforms operating in Ghana offer digital wallet services denominated in foreign currencies (primarily US dollars) that integrate with the local banking system through direct bank transfers, payment cards, and other channels. These cryptocurrency platforms are not authorized to conduct such activities.The central bank pointed out that these foreign currency digital wallets involve compliance requirements under the Payment Systems and Services Act of 2019 and the Foreign Exchange Act of 2006. Due to the lack of necessary approvals for cryptocurrency platforms, the banking infrastructure supporting these services is illegal. The directive takes effect immediately and applies to banks, deposit-taking institutions, electronic money issuers, and payment service providers, prohibiting the establishment or maintenance of any arrangements supporting these unauthorized fiat wallet systems. Non-compliant institutions will face regulatory or enforcement actions. The central bank has established a virtual asset service desk for businesses to consult on compliance matters.

According to Jinshi reports, Krishna Bhimavarapu, an economist at State Street Global Advisors in the Asia-Pacific region, stated that supported by enhanced economic resilience and rising inflation, central banks around the world may be entering a phase of synchronized interest rate hikes. Bhimavarapu pointed out that the Bank of Japan seems ready to raise interest rates to the psychological key point of 1% and may hint at a second rate hike this year. In contrast, the Reserve Bank of Australia appears to be pausing interest rate hikes due to weakening economic growth and labor market momentum, but the inflation issue remains unresolved, potentially leaving room for at least one more rate hike. Bhimavarapu expects that the Federal Reserve may shift to a hawkish stance by the end of this week.

Stand With Crypto's UK branch has initiated action, calling on banks to lift restrictions on transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges, arguing that such practices conflict with the UK's goal of becoming a global digital asset hub.The organization stated that about 40% of banks in the UK have blocked or delayed transactions to cryptocurrency exchanges, and 80% of exchanges reported a significant increase in trading resistance from customers over the past year. Some exchanges have even experienced nearly £1 billion in transaction cancellations within a year due to banks refusing to process transfers.Stand With Crypto UK plans to mobilize over 286,000 registered cryptocurrency advocates in the UK to submit formal complaints to their respective banks. The organization stated that users should not be unable to access legitimate asset classes due to banks imposing "one-size-fits-all" restrictions on the entire industry.

According to Nikkei News, Japan's three major banks plan to jointly issue a stablecoin pegged to fiat currency within the fiscal year 2026, and have established a consultation mechanism to promote the application and operational design in real transaction scenarios. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank are expected to soon sign a basic agreement. Since November 2025, the three banks have been conducting joint empirical experiments under the guidance of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Japan to prepare for the joint issuance of the stablecoin. In the future, this consultation committee will continue to promote the practical application and commercialization design of the stablecoin in conjunction with relevant laws and regulations and market development trends.

According to PYMNTS, the comment period for the implementation rules of the GENIUS Act by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) ended on June 9. The proposal clearly states that payment stablecoins themselves do not qualify as deposits insured by the FDIC, and stablecoin holders do not enjoy pass-through deposit insurance. Industry feedback indicates significant disagreements in the payment sector.Traditional institutions such as banks strongly oppose incentives like yields, rewards, or cashback offered by stablecoins, arguing that this would attract deposits away from banks, harming local lending capacity, and calling for a clear prohibition on any form of compensation within the stablecoin ecosystem; the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) technical committee suggested that the FDIC require the adoption of machine-readable reporting formats and Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) to enhance transparency, regulatory information sharing, and data quality.

The Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea stated that the tense situation in the Middle East and market expectations for interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve are driving fluctuations in the Korean won exchange rate. The Financial Supervisory Service has requested banks to strengthen risk management measures to cope with market turmoil.In addition, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea will conduct inspections on speculative Korean won trading. The Financial Supervisory Service emphasized that excessive volatility in the foreign exchange market and unilateral positions are undesirable, and stated that the fundamentals of the South Korean economy and external credibility remain solid.

According to Jinshi reports, after the release of significantly better-than-expected non-farm payroll data on Friday, market expectations for the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes this year surged, causing spot gold to plummet sharply, nearly erasing all gains for the year, marking a fourth consecutive week of declines. Silver's overall trend mirrored that of gold but with slightly stronger volatility, closing down 9.85% for the week. The U.S. dollar index, buoyed by the unexpected non-farm data, rose significantly to just above the 100 mark. Following the non-farm data on Friday, U.S. tech stocks suffered heavy losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 1.35%, the S&P 500 index fell 2.65%, marking the largest single-day drop since October 2025; the Nasdaq dropped 4.18%, the largest single-day decline since April 2025.Goldman Sachs believes that the current market sentiment is clearly more greedy than fearful. Deutsche Bank pointed out that the market is highly sensitive to any negative news involving Iran. Here are the key points the market will focus on in the new week (all times are in Beijing time):Monday 23:00, U.S. May New York Fed 1-year inflation expectations;Tuesday 14:00, Germany April seasonally adjusted industrial production month-on-month, April seasonally adjusted trade balance;Tuesday 18:00, U.S. May NFIB Small Business Confidence Index;Tuesday 20:15, U.S. ADP employment change for the week ending May 23;Wednesday 20:30, U.S. May unadjusted CPI, May seasonally adjusted CPI/core CPI month-on-month;Wednesday 21:45, Bank of Canada announces interest rate decision;Thursday 20:15, European Central Bank announces interest rate decision;Thursday 20:30, U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending June 6, May PPI year-on-year/month-on-month;Friday 14:00, Germany May CPI month-on-month final value;Friday 14:45, France May CPI month-on-month final value;Friday 22:00, U.S. June 1-year inflation expectations preliminary value, June University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index preliminary value.In the coming week, the market will face a series of important events, but the most anticipated remains the potential initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX. According to current plans, this transaction may launch on Friday, and if it proceeds, it is expected to have a significant impact on overall market sentiment, although the specific direction is still difficult to determine.In addition to SpaceX, the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, earnings reports, and TSMC's May sales data may also become important factors influencing market volatility. Next week, U.S. stocks will enter a relatively calm phase of earnings season; although the overall number of reports is not large, heavyweight tech companies Oracle and Adobe will take the stage one after another, becoming the focus of market attention.

According to The Wall Street Journal, several large banks in the United States plan to launch a tokenized deposit network next year, aimed at addressing the threat posed by stablecoins and cryptocurrency companies that have accelerated their penetration into traditional banking with the support of the Trump administration.The network will connect traditional payment rails with digital asset infrastructure, operated by the real-time payment network company Clearing House, which is jointly owned by several major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo.

According to Jinshi, SpaceX is pressuring banks to achieve the historically lowest IPO fee rate.SpaceX is negotiating with the banks underwriting its initial public offering (IPO), seeking to pay an underwriting fee of less than 0.75%. Although SpaceX is negotiating to lower the underwriting fee, the banks are still likely to earn about $500 million from this IPO.

It has been reported that banks in the Hong Kong region are tightening account openings. According to informed sources, in accordance with the requirements of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, some banks in the Hong Kong region will start tightening the opening of investment accounts from May 26, including the need to sign paper declarations, but there is currently no impact on savings accounts.