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According to the official service account of Visa on October 13, Visa has officially received approval from the People's Bank of China to prepare for a bank card clearing institution within China. Visa will continue to complete subsequent work and carry out bank card clearing business in China.Visa CEO Al Kelly stated that the approval of this preparation application is another important milestone in Visa's long-term commitment to serving the Chinese market. The company looks forward to actively carrying out subsequent work in accordance with the relevant regulatory provisions of the People's Bank of China, in order to strive for early business development in the domestic market.

The A-share banking sector rose against the trend today, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of China collectively setting new historical records for their stock prices. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China reached a peak of 8.51 yuan during trading, with its market value briefly surpassing 3 trillion yuan, while China Construction Bank and Bank of China also hit new highs since their listings.So far, 21 A-share listed banks have disclosed their mid-term dividend plans for 2026, with a total proposed dividend exceeding 260 billion yuan. The six major banks have unified their dividend payout ratio, increasing from last year's 30% to 31%, with a total proposed dividend of approximately 221 billion yuan. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China leads with 53.853 billion yuan, followed by China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China with proposed dividends of 52.582 billion yuan, 45.393 billion yuan, and 38.343 billion yuan, respectively. Fifteen banks have increased their dividend ratios compared to last year, with Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank leading at 34.07%. Currently, seven banks, including Ruifeng Bank, Minsheng Bank, and Chengdu Bank, have completed their dividend payouts, totaling approximately 18.9 billion yuan.Market analysis suggests that high dividends and expectations for mid-term dividends are important driving forces behind this round of increases. Based on the latest stock prices, among the 42 A-share banks, 27 have dividend yields above 3%, with Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank at 4.32% and 4.22%, respectively, significantly higher than current deposit rates and the average annualized returns of wealth management products.

On October 12, 2026, Bulgarian bank Fibank (First Investment Bank) signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Austrian licensed cryptocurrency service provider Bitpanda GmbH. The cooperation will allow Fibank customers to directly access cryptocurrency asset service technology provided by Bitpanda through the My Fibank mobile application. The article states that Fibank thus becomes the first bank in Bulgaria to offer integrated cryptocurrency trading access to its customers.Customers can apply and, once approved, use the related services through the embedded Bitpanda interface in My Fibank around the clock, with a minimum investment threshold of 1 euro. The cryptocurrency asset services are provided by Bitpanda, and access depends on Bitpanda's acceptance of potential customers and its applicable terms and standards. The article explains that these digital products are different from traditional deposits and financial instruments, and do not come with guarantees or compensation plans.Fibank CEO Nikola Bakalov stated that the cooperation with Bitpanda is the next step for My Fibank to expand financial services as a digital platform, emphasizing collaboration with European technology partners and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Bitpanda Enterprise's global head Nadeem Ladki stated that the two parties will bring cryptocurrency services to over 1 million customers in Bulgaria. Fibank claims to be the largest bank in Bulgaria by capital holdings, with core operations in Bulgaria and branches in Cyprus and a subsidiary in Albania.

According to Bloomberg, Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, stated at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting in Bangkok that given the many innovative developments currently underway in the digital payment sector, the UK has no urgent plans to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to the public.Breeden pointed out that whether to advance a retail CBDC (i.e., "Britcoin") will depend on whether equivalent benefits of tokenization and financial innovation can be achieved through other means.

According to Crowdfund Insider, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) analyst Craig Siegenthaler adjusted the target prices for three major retail trading and cryptocurrency platforms in early October 2026, as follows:Robinhood (HOOD): Target price raised from $140 to $156, maintaining a "Buy" rating.Coinbase (COIN): Target price raised from $174 to $203, maintaining a "Buy" rating.eToro (ETOR): Target price lowered from $46 to $39, maintaining a "Neutral" rating.

Standard Chartered Bank announced that it has launched institutional custody services for Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD through its Dubai International Financial Centre branch, supporting the operation of this stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, allowing qualified institutional clients to use its digital asset custody infrastructure.Standard Chartered plans to extend the collateral mirroring model to institutional trading company LMAX Group, allowing clients to use RLUSD as trading collateral while the tokens remain held in the bank's custody. This model enables LMAX to confirm the value of qualified RLUSD holdings without requiring clients to transfer tokens, which Standard Chartered claims reduces transfer-related risks and helps institutions manage counterparty exposure.The issuer of RLUSD, Ripple, and LMAX Group announced a partnership in January 2026 to expand the institutional use of this stablecoin. Standard Chartered stated that the new collateral functionality still needs to meet conditions such as final documentation, testing, regulatory requirements, and internal approvals.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings are being held this week in Bangkok, gathering central bank governors from multiple countries. Federal Reserve Chair Waller will deliver a speech on Friday, with key topics including economic growth, debt, and geopolitics. IMF President Kristalina Georgieva hinted that the new edition of the World Economic Outlook is not optimistic due to high energy prices, record global public debt, and tensions in the bond market. Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as AI regulation, will also be focal points of attention.

According to South Korea's "Daily Economy," JB Financial Group's Jeonbuk Bank has launched the first Korean banking loan project linked to digital assets. Initially, it is aimed at corporate clients, using Bitcoin as the sole collateral, with the loan purpose limited to business operating funds.The bank does not directly hold or manage Bitcoin; instead, it is stored by qualified virtual asset service providers. In the event of default, the bank does not acquire ownership of the virtual assets but recovers its claims by liquidating the collateral through court auction and other procedures, according to the revised "Civil Execution Rules." Currently, Jeonbuk Bank has completed stress testing and established a valuation system based on the weighted average prices from multiple global exchanges.

Cointelegraph reported that the Central Bank of Argentina stated that if President Javier Milei is re-elected, banks may be able to offer cryptocurrency-related services to customers during his second term. This statement comes four years after the Central Bank of Argentina prohibited banks from providing cryptocurrency services.The report mentioned that the Central Bank of Argentina had previously restricted banks from engaging in cryptocurrency business. This statement connects the possibility of banks reopening cryptocurrency services to the policy environment after Milei's re-election, but no specific timeline, entry conditions, or range of products to be offered have been announced.

According to Bitcoin.com News, Juan Curutchet, the head of financial and foreign exchange institution regulation at the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), recently stated that in the short term, cryptocurrency assets will not be allowed to integrate into the banking and payment service systems, and the regulations prohibiting financial institutions from providing cryptocurrency services established in 2022 will continue to be maintained.Juan Curutchet pointed out that Argentina's current economic vulnerability is insufficient to support the advancement of related measures, and whether the ban will be lifted in the future depends on the economic situation. Related topics may be discussed during the second term of Milei.

According to The Defiant, Coinbase and Gennius plan to provide users with access to the ONED stablecoin through banks in Latin America, with the initiative launching first in Argentina.According to the plan, customers can convert eligible deposits into ONED USD for round-the-clock transfers and can make purchases using Visa.

Driven by fluctuations in gold and silver prices and active trading by investors, global banks are expected to achieve approximately $5 billion in precious metals trading revenue in 2026, setting a new historical high.JPMorgan earned about $700 million from precious metals trading in the first half of the year, while Deutsche Bank's related revenue exceeded $200 million this year. Citigroup has become the first bank in ten years to join the London gold market vault and clearing services.

Shunyet Jan, the head of trading and trading operations at Binance, stated that the future competition among financial platforms will no longer be limited to cryptocurrency asset trading, but will integrate services such as investment, payment, lending, and asset management, creating a comprehensive financial ecosystem that covers both traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market. Jan has worked for about 30 years at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase. He believes that traditional finance has advantages in regulation, risk management, and functional segregation, while the cryptocurrency industry is more competitive in 24-hour trading, fast settlement, and openness, and that the two will accelerate their integration in the future.Binance hopes to allow users to utilize their financial value without having to sell underlying assets through features such as unified accounts, cross-asset margin, tokenized assets, and stablecoin payments, and to explore using AI to simplify asset selection and risk management. Jan revealed that Binance currently has over 300 million users, most of whom come from emerging markets; among users of its direct stock and tokenized stock products, about 90% come from emerging markets. He stated that Binance's long-term goal is to expand its user base from 300 million to 3 billion and to become a financial infrastructure that more people can use.

The European Central Bank plans to launch the digital euro in the second half of 2029, with the first applications covering all online stores in the eurozone, some physical retail stores, and personal transfers. The document shows that the digital euro will support both online and offline transactions to accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive digital payment system.

According to the Financial Times, SoftBank is seeking funding in the Gulf region to expand its investment bets in the field of artificial intelligence.

According to the official website of the People's Bank of China, the central bank released the "Policy Position on the Renminbi Exchange Rate," clarifying that China implements a managed floating exchange rate system based on market supply and demand, referencing a basket of currencies, and has exited from normalized foreign exchange interventions since 2017.The central bank stated that China has no intention of gaining trade competitive advantages through devaluation, never engages in competitive currency devaluation, and only uses macro-prudential tools to prevent short-term overshooting under significant external shocks such as the pandemic and the tariff war in April 2025. Since the exchange rate reform in 2005, the Renminbi has appreciated by a cumulative 23% against the US dollar, and the nominal effective exchange rate has appreciated by over 50%; since 2025, it has appreciated by about 9% against the US dollar.The central bank also pointed out that using the International Monetary Fund's external balance assessment conclusions as the official basis for the undervaluation of the Renminbi is a misinterpretation and misuse, and that alleviating global imbalances requires joint action from deficit and surplus countries.

According to TASS, Kirill Tsarev, the First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank, stated that the bank has noticed a significant interest from a large number of customers in cryptocurrencies, which have become an indispensable part of the global market.

Danske Bank strategists indicate that the US dollar remains strong against major currencies, supported by high US Treasury yields and expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve policy.It is expected that the yields on 10-year and 30-year US Treasury bonds may rise to 6%. The relative strength index is at 73.6, and the dollar index is showing strong momentum, but the upside potential may be limited.

According to Gate market data, Deutsche Bank strategists stated that the widening bond spreads and rising inflation concerns are putting pressure on risk assets. The STOXX 600 index fell by 1%, the French CAC 40 index fell by 1.22%, and the Italian FTSE MIB index fell by 2.51%, while European bank stocks dropped by 3.38%.The S&P 500 index fell by 0.22%, with industrial and materials stocks down by 2.14% and 1.53%, respectively. The Nasdaq index and the seven tech giants fell by 0.22% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Russell 2000 index dropped by 1.31%.

According to The Block, Standard Chartered Bank's Singapore branch plans to provide custody services for specific crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets to institutional investors.The bank stated that this service will expand its existing crypto asset custody business, which currently covers the UAE, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong.