ChainCatcher news, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has released a summary of the consultation on the proposed renaming of virtual banks, stating that virtual banks will be renamed as "digital banks," and guidelines will be revised to implement the new name as soon as possible.During the consultation period, a total of 26 submissions were received, including from industry or professional organizations, virtual banks, and citizens. Respondents generally supported the renaming proposal, with most also agreeing to the suggested new name "digital banks." The Monetary Authority will revise the guidelines on the "Recognition of Virtual Banks" to implement the new name digital banks as soon as possible.

ChainCatcher news, the Deputy Minister of Finance of Thailand stated that there is no limit on the number of virtual bank licenses and hopes that the central bank can consider the issuance of virtual bank licenses more quickly within a six-month timeframe.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong virtual bank WeLab announced a consortium with Thai fintech company Lighthub Asset and has submitted an application for a digital banking license to the Bank of Thailand, with the results expected to be announced in the first half of 2025.It is reported that Lightnet Group has obtained licenses from the Bank of Thailand as well as four other central banks in Asia and Europe. It utilizes artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to provide global payment solutions in 150 countries, including cross-border remittances, e-wallets, and multi-currency digital bank accounts. The company has also received strategic investments from UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Hanwha Investment & Securities, Uni-President, and Raffles Family Office.WeLab founder and Group CEO, Ronny Tong, expressed his anticipation of the opportunity to establish the third digital bank in Asia and to make it the leading digital bank in Thailand.

ChainCatcher news, the 21st Century Business Herald published an article titled "Central Ring Observation | Where is the Path for Hong Kong's Virtual Banks Amid Continuous Losses?" In the article, Livio Weng, Chief Operating Officer of HashKey Group, stated that the virtual asset trading services of various virtual banks have not yet launched and are still awaiting approval from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. It is expected that the first virtual bank will be approved within the next quarter. In addition to virtual asset ETF trading, these banks also plan to expand their cryptocurrency product lines, including collaborating with virtual asset exchanges to provide users with direct purchasing and trading services for crypto assets.However, Livio Weng also pointed out that the development of Hong Kong's virtual banks in the field of virtual asset trading faces some challenges. The regulatory framework for virtual assets by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is still being refined, so each virtual bank needs to closely monitor regulatory developments to ensure the compliance of their operations and transactions.

ChainCatcher news, according to the 21st Century Business Herald, Chen Yongfu, a senior analyst in the banking and fintech industry at Bloomberg Industry Research, stated that it is expected that in 2024, due to rapid revenue growth and stable cost base, the overall losses of Hong Kong virtual banks will shrink to HKD 2 billion or less; operating expenses may fall below HKD 3.2 billion.Last year, eight virtual banks generally recorded growth in net interest income, with MOX BANK, Fusion Bank, Livi Bank, and Ant Bank (Hong Kong) achieving over 100% growth. However, PAO Bank and Tianxing Bank saw their net interest income decrease compared to the previous year, dropping by 14% and 32% year-on-year, respectively.In addition, the smallest loss was recorded by Ant Bank, with a post-tax net loss of approximately HKD 180 million in 2023. Its net interest income for 2023 was HKD 58.419 million, a year-on-year increase of 291%. In the same year, customer deposits amounted to HKD 633.822 million, a year-on-year increase of 79%; customer loans reached HKD 314.375 million, a year-on-year increase of 573%.From the financial reports, PAO Bank's technology-related expenditures in 2023 totaled approximately HKD 60.61 million, while Tianxing Bank's technology-related expenditures were about HKD 72.67 million, accounting for approximately 24% and 30% of the total expenditures of the two banks in 2023, respectively.

ChainCatcher news, HashKey Group's Chief Operating Officer Livio Weng stated in an interview with the 21st Century Business Herald that the virtual asset trading services of various virtual banks have not yet launched and are still awaiting approval from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. It is expected that the first virtual bank will be approved within the next quarter.In addition to virtual asset ETF trading, these banks also plan to expand their cryptocurrency product lines, including collaborating with virtual asset exchanges to provide users with direct purchasing and trading services for crypto assets. Livio Weng also pointed out that the development of Hong Kong virtual banks in the field of virtual asset trading faces some challenges. The regulatory framework for virtual assets by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is still being refined, so each virtual bank needs to closely monitor regulatory developments to ensure the compliance of their operations and transactions.

ChainCatcher news, Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jietzhuang posted on social media: "The Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently published a report on virtual banks. I appreciate the Hong Kong SAR government's support for the upgrading of banking services and the development of virtual banks in recent years, but at the same time, my team conducted a survey on the opinions of Web3 companies regarding banking services in Hong Kong, which indicated that Web3 companies are facing difficulties in opening accounts, leading to ineffective business development. Therefore, I propose at today's press conference:Virtual banks should diversify their services and develop in a way that complements traditional banks.⁠Hong Kong should establish virtual asset/digital asset banks as soon as possible or upgrade virtual banks to manage virtual assets, in line with the SAR government's Web3 development.⁠Hong Kong should accelerate the development of the Web3 ecosystem. Currently, virtual asset policies are a focal point of discussion among global governments, and we should strive to become the Hong Kong Web3 center by promoting the development of the entire chain and ecosystem as soon as possible."

ChainCatcher news, Standard Chartered Bank's virtual banking subsidiary Mox has announced the launch of cryptocurrency ETF services, becoming the first bank of its kind to offer direct trading of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on its platform. The bank also plans to expand its cryptocurrency products, including future direct purchases and trading of crypto assets in collaboration with licensed exchanges.Mox charges a fee of 0.12% on trading volume for spot and derivative ETFs listed in Hong Kong, with a minimum of $3.85 (30 HKD); for derivative ETFs listed in the United States, it charges a fee of 0.01% on trading volume, with a minimum of $5.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Hong Kong 01, the President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Yu Weiwen, stated that looking ahead, with the diversified development of virtual banks and traditional banks, the Monetary Authority believes that the current number of virtual bank licenses is appropriate, and there is no need to introduce more new virtual bank participants into the market at this stage.In terms of business and financial performance, virtual banks faced challenges in their early stages of operation, primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and none of the eight virtual banks had achieved profitability by the end of 2023.However, over the past three years, virtual banks have recorded moderate business growth, and operational performance has continued to improve. From the fiscal year 2021 to 2023, their overall operating income increased sevenfold, and net losses narrowed by 15%.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Hong Kong's largest virtual bank, ZA Bank, has announced that it will provide exclusive reserve banking services for stablecoin issuers.ZA Bank confirmed in a statement that it is the first digital bank in Hong Kong to offer such services and has partnered with the first stablecoin issuer, Yuancoin. Yuancoin becomes the first stablecoin issuer to utilize these reserve banking services, marking a significant advancement in the integration of traditional banking and fintech innovation. Additionally, ZA Bank is in discussions with about 10 other stablecoin companies for future collaboration projects and is actively supporting the policies of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

ChainCatcher news, WeLab founder and Group CEO Ronny Tong stated that the corporate restructuring has been completed, and WeLend is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of WeLab Bank, planning to expand its business in Hong Kong to the next growth stage.WeLab Bank CEO Li Ka Tat stated that they are accelerating business planning and enhancing profitability, currently serving over 650,000 users, and expect to generate an additional HKD 800 million in net profit over the next five years, with hopes of achieving profitability by 2025.

ChainCatcher news, according to Dongfang Caifu Net, Futu Holdings announced the completion of a HKD 440 million investment in the parent company of the licensed virtual bank, Tianxing Bank. After the transaction, Futu indirectly holds 44.11% of Tianxing Bank's shares, becoming the second-largest shareholder. The largest shareholder of Tianxing Bank is Xiaomi, while Tencent is among Futu's shareholders.It is reported that Futu's investment is mainly to support the business development of Tianxing Bank, promote business diversification, and facilitate the development of the industry ecosystem, helping to sustain innovation and popularization of financial technology in Hong Kong, and deepen inclusive finance.Tianxing Bank was jointly established by Xiaomi Group and Asian brokerage firm Sun Hung Kai Financial. It was granted a banking license by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on May 9, 2019, and officially commenced trial operations on March 31, 2020, becoming the second officially operating virtual bank in Hong Kong. The bank's main business is to engage in banking and related financial services in Hong Kong in the form of a virtual bank.

ChainCatcher news, according to data from the Monetary Authority, the total number of customers of virtual banks in Hong Kong has reached 2.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 20%. Total deposits have risen to HKD 37 billion, an increase of 23%, while total loans have reached HKD 19 billion, growing by 19%. These figures indicate that the business of virtual banks is steadily improving.Previous news, according to the Hong Kong Economic Journal, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched a consultation on April 30 to rename "virtual banks" to "licensed digital banks" for 8 virtual banks, the Hong Kong Association of Banks, the Hong Kong Association of Restricted License Banks and Deposit-taking Companies, lasting for 1 month.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by the Hong Kong newspaper, Mox bank's investment product head, Liu Hanyang, stated that they plan to launch virtual asset investment services in the second half of this year, meaning that Mox bank customers can expect to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum through the bank's mobile application in the future.Liu Hanyang mentioned that they intend to collaborate with a licensed virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong to provide virtual asset investment to bank customers. They are currently selecting partners and will subsequently submit relevant applications to the Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission.In addition, the bank also hopes to offer customers investment services for U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs.

ChainCatcher news, citing sources from Bloomberg, reports that a Hong Kong virtual bank has secured $260 million in asset financing from Citigroup in partnership with the online lending platform WeLab.According to sources, Citigroup is the sole senior underwriter for the transaction, but requested anonymity due to the private nature of the deal. Currently, Citigroup's representative in Hong Kong and WeLab have both declined to comment. The financing was first reported last November, when it was said that WeLab's valuation could be around $2 billion.It is reported that WeLab has established a presence at Hong Kong Cyberport and is also a founding member of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association.

ChainCatcher news, ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co., Ltd. (ZhongAn Online, 06060.HK) announced that its virtual bank ZA Bank, located in Hong Kong, achieved a net income of HKD 152 million in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 13.0%. The net interest margin further increased to 1.87% during the interest rate hike cycle. As of the end of June, ZA Bank recorded a deposit balance of HKD 10.712 billion and total loans of approximately HKD 4.916 billion, with a loan-to-deposit ratio of 45.9%.ZA Bank's net loss improved by HKD 57 million compared to the same period last year, with the net loss rate narrowing by about 60 percentage points. In its semi-annual report, ZhongAn Online stated that ZA Bank is currently providing basic commercial banking services for Web3 enterprises, while also serving as a settlement bank for local licensed virtual asset exchanges such as HashKey Exchange, offering convenient fiat deposit and withdrawal services. In addition, ZA Bank plans to launch U.S. stock trading services in due course to further meet users' diverse investment and financial needs.

According to ChainCatcher, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is promoting open APIs between banks, with 28 banks participating in Hong Kong's open API initiative, including 3 note-issuing banks, small and medium-sized banks, and virtual banks. The Monetary Authority hopes the industry can resolve the technical issues (Defects) encountered in integration before September, aiming to officially launch the Inter-Bank Account Data Sharing (IADS) platform for customer data sharing by the end of this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Thailand will allow the country's first virtual banks to operate in 2025 and plans to open application channels later this quarter. The Bank of Thailand plans to allow virtual banks to act as financial service providers and will issue three different licenses to interested companies in 2024.It is reported that the regulation of virtual banks in Thailand will be the same as that of traditional commercial banks under the licensing framework, and they can also provide full-service banking, but will not be allowed to open physical branches or operate their own ATMs. Eligible applicants must meet certain requirements, including a minimum registered capital of 5 billion baht (approximately 150 million USD), which must expand to 10 billion baht (approximately 300 million USD) when fully operational. (Bloomberg)