Some European lenders temporarily shut branches to limit spread of the virus

March 18, 2020 | 12:04 am

FRANKFURT/LONDON — Two of Germany’s largest banks have temporarily shut hundreds of branches, while Italian lenders have shortened opening hours as they grapple with staff shortages and the spread of coronavirus.

Commerzbank said it will close several hundred of its roughly 1,000 branches in Germany, with the exact number yet to be determined, while HVB said it plans to close 101 of its 337 branches during Monday.

The banks are hoping that increased use of digital banking will limit the disruption caused by restricted branch services, while in Britain, Spain and France, where most banks remain open, there have been calls on customers to go online.

Customers of HVB and Commerzbank will still be able to use ATMs, online services and those branches that remain open. Several German savings banks have already closed or are planning to close branches.

Around 900 larger branches at Italy’s biggest retail bank, Intesa San Paolo, out of a total of 3,500, are only opening in the morning while most of its smaller sites are operating three mornings a week.

Intesa, which has closed some 122 of its small branches located nearer large ones, said that starting from on Tuesday customers would need to book an appointment to be able to access one of its branches.

UniCredit, which has around 4,000 branches in Italy, said last week it would keep only a limited number open in each region.

Other Italian banks are following suit, with Banca Monte dei Paschi also opening only in the morning.

BANKS PREPARED
British banking trade body UK Finance, which represents more than 250 firms, said continued access to banking services was “critical” and it would work closely with government and regulators to ensure its members could keep serving customers.

“Operational resilience is therefore crucial and the industry is working hard to ensure its systems, human and digital, remain robust and secure,” a spokesman told Reuters.

And in France, the country’s banking federation said that “despite complex operational conditions, all employees in the networks are and will remain fully mobilized to help their clients to get through this exceptional crisis.”

“Banking networks will be open and branches are prepared,” the French federation said in a statement on Sunday.

Britain’s biggest domestic lender, Lloyds, said it was waiving fees on missed payments on credit cards, loans and mortgages, giving repayment holidays, allowing emergency access to fixed-term savings accounts and raising online banking deposit limits to help people unable to access local branches.

“We are making some temporary changes over the coming weeks, and will be providing individual support to customers who need extra help,” Vim Maru, group director, Retail, said.

Barclays also said it was encouraging customers to speak to specialist teams set up to help those facing financial difficulty, and that it would also accept applications for temporary increases in credit card limits during the disruption.

Executives at TSB, owned by Spain’s Banco de Sabadell, are having regular calls to discuss and plan for possible changes in the UK’s approach to delaying the spread of coronavirus, a spokesman said.

There was no suggestion of sudden demand for cash from concerned customers or any service issues related to keeping ATMs well-stocked, the spokesman added.

While two branches had been closed due to staff illness, TSB said there were no immediate plans to close others preemptively and the bank’s main call center in Bristol was operating as normal, with no surge in calls from customers.

British building society Nationwide said it would open more than 100 of its 650 branches an hour early so that elderly and vulnerable customers, concerned about their exposure to coronavirus, could manage their money in a safe environment. — Reuters

Asian business chiefs see over 20% sales drop amid pandemic

March 18, 2020 | 12:04 am

OVER EIGHT in 10 business leaders in Asia (84%) saw revenues slumping amid the impact of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with some chief executives expecting a drop in sales of at least 20% in the next year, a latest global survey with business heads reported Tuesday.

The new Chief Executive Global Survey by YPO, an international group of more than 29,000 business leaders, highlighted that 82% of almost 3,000 chief executives from across the globe expected declining revenues in the next six months.

The survey, which was conducted from March 10 to 13, noted that 41% of the respondents said they expect a huge blow on revenues by the third quarter of the year, while 19% expect a more than 20% decrease in sales by end-2020.

Besides Asian leaders, chief executives from other regions with the highest number of reported cases of COVID-19 infections, such as South Asia (78%), Middle East and North Africa or MENA (74%) and Europe (70%), have been bearing the brunt of the coronavirus disease pandemic on their revenues.

Inversely, business leaders from Australia and New Zealand (52%), the United States (50%) and Canada (45%) reported a minimal business impact of the spread of the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2).

By industry, chiefs from the hospitality and travel (89%), education (87%) and media and entertainment (80%) industries were seen to be heavily burdened with the virus’s weight on their revenues.

Meanwhile, construction industry heads (36%) also saw an impact on revenues, while one in 10 of sector-specific retail and wholesale sector leaders, along with agriculture, factories, mine, and utilities firm chiefs, noticed a favorable business environment amid the disease pandemic.

As of March 16, the total number of COVID-19 infections across the world is approximately 167,511 with 6,606 fatalities. China still contributed to this number with 81,077 confirmed cases of infection and 3,218 deaths.

Besides the concerns on revenues (58%), business travel (87%) and new business development (62%) were also the areas where respondents felt the impact of the pandemic.

The report also showed that almost all of the respondents (95%) have carried out actions to stem the effect of COVID-19 in their businesses, including regular communication with employees and adopting new health and safety procedures.

Among the leaders polled, over six in 10 said they have canceled major events since the spread of the dreaded virus.

Moreover, the pandemic has driven business chiefs to shift short-term goals (32%), research new business innovations (28%) and make changes to their supply chains (18%).

In terms of workforce, 70% expected to have the same total number of employees over the next year, while businesses in MENA (33%), Europe (29%), and South Asia (27%), were most likely to consider lay off schemes.

On March 11, the World Health Organization described the global outbreak of COVID-19 as “the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus.” — Adam J. Ang

Universal Pictures will make movies available at home and in theaters on the same day

March 18, 2020 | 12:03 am

UNIVERSAL PICTURES, a division of Comcast Corp.-owned NBCUniversal, will make its movies available at home on the same day they are released in theaters worldwide, beginning with the DreamWorks Animation film Trolls World Tour — which opens in the United States on April 10.

The decision, announced by NBCUniversal on Monday, is a response to changing consumer behavior as the coronavirus spreads. It upends the traditional practice of keeping a movie exclusively in theaters for what is typically a 90-day window before releasing it on other platforms.

NBCUniversal will “continue to evaluate the environment as conditions evolve,” the company said in a statement, adding it will revisit the strategy when the current situation changes.

On Sunday night, the mayors of New York and Los Angeles ordered movie theaters in their respective cities to close in response to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

NBCUniversal said that by Friday, recently released films including The Hunt, The Invisible Man, and Emma will be available from sister companies Sky and Comcast and on a variety of on-demand services. The suggested price will be $19.99 in the United States for a 48-hour rental, and the equivalent price elsewhere.

“Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” said NBCUniversal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Shell in a statement.

Between this past Friday and Sunday, North American movie box office sales hit their lowest levels in over two decades, according to Comscore, as viewers stayed home and theaters capped their seating capacity to create more space between moviegoers. — Reuters

New York Federal Reserve sees light demand for extra $500B in overnight repo

March 18, 2020 | 12:03 am

NEW YORK — The New York Federal Reserve saw light demand for an additional $500 billion in support to overnight lending markets on Monday, even after a spike in the cost of overnight loans indicated that companies were still feeling funding strains.

Primary dealers took only $19.40 billion of the loans on offer at the overnight repurchase agreement (repo) operation.

The added support was meant to “ensure that the supply of reserves remain ample and to support the smooth functioning of short-term US dollar funding market,” the New York Fed said in a statement Monday.

Investors and regulators have been alarmed, in particular, by liquidity problems in the $17- trillion US Treasuries market. Large and unusually quick swings in yields are making it hard for investors to execute orders, as are persistently large spreads between bid and ask prices on individual securities.

In addition to slashing rates to near zero, the Fed announced on Sunday evening that it would purchase an additional $700 billion in Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities to improve market functioning.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank decided to purchase more Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities after noting that the large repo operations announced last week were not doing enough to keep markets liquid.

“These markets are part of the foundation of the global financial system and of the United States financial system,” Mr. Powell said during a press call with reporters Sunday night. “If they are not functioning well then that will spread to other markets.”

The rate on overnight repo loans jumped to 2% on Monday morning in volatile trading before the Fed announced the latest repo operation. It dropped to 1% after the announcement and to 0.05% later on Monday.

The Fed’s efforts over the weekend also appear to have failed to temper a global scramble for US dollar financing. Loans remained expensive in offshore markets, with Japanese banks paying a premium of 173 basis points to swap yen for one-month dollars, almost a tenfold climb over the average price in the past year. — Reuters

SEC sets guidelines for remote annual meetings

March 18, 2020 | 12:03 am

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued guidelines for corporations that want to do stockholders’ meetings remotely while Luzon is under “strict home quarantine.”

After President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered to lockdown the entire Luzon island starting yesterday due to the coronavirus outbreak, mass gatherings are similarly prohibited until April 13.

Annual stockholders’ meetings (ASMs) of publicly listed companies were originally scheduled in the next few weeks until June. With the prohibitions in place, the SEC issued Memorandum Circular No. 6 outlining the guidelines on the attendance and participation of stockholders for meetings that will be held remotely or through electronic communication.

Aside from ASMs, the memorandum covers board meetings and other regular and special meetings for stockholders.

“The Guidelines support the President’s declaration of a state of public health emergency throughout the Philippines to contain the outbreak of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said in a statement.

For board meetings, the company’s corporate secretary is tasked to send notices of meetings to directors and trustees via e-mail or other electronic messaging services. Companies are allowed to craft their own procedures for the conduct of the meeting, which will address administrative, technical and logistical concerns.

Attendance in meetings must be confirmed in advance. During the meeting, each of the attendees must specify their location and the device they are using on roll call. When needed to vote, directors and trustees may do so via e-mail, messaging services, or whatever procedure that has been agreed upon internally.

For stockholders’ or members’ meetings, the same rules apply for invitations. The notice of a meeting must indicate the requirements and procedures for participation and the matter and period for casting votes.

The presiding officer must initiate the meeting at the principal office of the corporation or in the city or municipality where it is located. Confirmation of participation from stockholders is required in advance.

As allowed by the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, stockholders may vote through remote communication or in absentia when authorized by a resolution of the majority of the board.

Like in board meetings, the companies are tasked to issue their own internal procedures for participation and voting in such meetings. This is expected to consider the number of shareholders and their locations and the importance of the matters to be discussed.

Such meetings are also required to be recorded for future reference, which the secretary will safe-keep.

“Aside from allowing directors, trustees, stockholders or members to participate in meetings through remote communication to minimize face-to-face interactions, the Commission encourages corporations to explore and implement all necessary measures to prevent the further spread of COVID-19,” Mr. Aquino said.

Prior to the SEC memo, the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) had earlier advised firms to look into allowing remote participation in ASMs due to the virus outbreak.

As of Tuesday, records from the PSE Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (EDGE) platform show the companies whose ASMs are scheduled this month are BDO Leasing and Finance, Inc. (March 20); Xurpas, Inc. (March 24); Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (March 26); and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. (March 27). — Denise A. Valdez

Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande give thumbs up to social distancing to contain coronavirus

March 18, 2020 | 12:02 am

LOS ANGELES — Action star Arnold Schwarzenegger told Americans to “ignore the morons,” Lady Gaga said she was staying at home with her dogs, and Taylor Swift said sacrifices are needed as she urged her 128 million fans to practice social distancing in a bid to contain the coronavirus.

As US authorities stepped up calls for Americans to move beyond hand washing and isolate themselves as much as possible, Ariana Grande and Heidi Klum added their voices to celebrities appealing for drastically reduced social interactions.

“I’m seeing lots of get-togethers and hangs and parties still happening. This is the time to cancel plans, actually truly isolate as much as you can,” Swift posted on social media on Sunday.

“It’s a really scary time, but we need to make sacrifices right now,” the “Fearless” singer said.

New York and Los Angeles announced closures of bars, movie theaters and restaurants starting on Monday, as the death toll from the outbreak rose to 65 over the weekend.

Schwarzenegger, the Terminator star and former California governor, posted a video of himself at his kitchen table hugging his two miniature horses.

“We don’t go out. We don’t go to restaurants. We don’t do anything like that anymore here,” he said on Sunday. “Stay at home as much as possible. Listen to the experts, ignore the morons.”

Pop star Grande appeared to be responding to social media postings at the weekend of people bragging about frequenting bars, restaurants, and public places in spite of the coronavirus outbreak.

“It is incredibly dangerous and selfish to take this situation that lightly,” the “7 Rings” singer with 177 million Instagram followers posted. “Please don’t turn a blind eye.”

Former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, who appeared in Quantum of Solace in 2008, announced on Sunday that she was “locked up at home” after testing positive for coronavirus, joining Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson as celebrities who have been diagnosed with the disease.

Model and America’s Got Talent judge Heidi Klum said she was keeping apart from her musician husband Tom Kaulitz after coming down with a fever a week ago. Klum said she has tested for coronavirus but has not provided an update on the result.

“As much as I want to embrace him and kiss him, it is more important to do the right thing and not spread further,” Klum posted on Instagram.

Singer Miley Cyrus appealed to fans to stop panic buying and hoarding and to be thoughtful while preparing for social distancing. “NO ONE needs every soup in the store,” she wrote on Twitter. — Reuters

Australia’s Afterpay settles with regulator for loans issued without license

March 18, 2020 | 12:02 am

AUSTRALIA’S buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay Ltd. will refund late fees paid by customers in California for loans, which were deemed “illegal” by the US state’s financial regulator, the two sides said as part of a settlement.

The company will pay A$1.5 million ($916,350), of which $905,000 will go to about 640,000 consumers in California who paid late fees and the rest will be administrative fees.

The settlement is for loans issued before Afterpay had a California financing law license. It was granted a license in November last year.

The increasingly popular buy-now-pay-later space has been facing increased regulatory scrutiny, and Afterpay, considered by many as the sector’s bellwether, has faced the brunt of it back home in Australia too.

Shares plunged 10.2% in early trade, only to recover to be down 4.5% in a little over one hour of trading. The broader index was in positive territory after closing sharply lower on Monday.

Earlier this year, California’s financial regulator, the Department of Business Oversight (DBO), had also rapped Minneapolis-based and Australia-listed Sezzle Inc. for giving out credit without a license.

“While Afterpay does not believe such an arrangement required a license from the DBO or was illegal, Afterpay has agreed to conduct its operations under the DBO license as a part of this settlement,” a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail to Reuters.

Buy-now-pay-later firms have gained traction, mainly with millennials, by giving an option to buy things through interest-free installments and helping them sidestep tougher rules related to taking a credit card or loan. — Reuters

Transcom suspends operations in Metro Manila

March 18, 2020 | 12:02 am

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

BUSINESS PROCESS outsourcing (BPO) firm Transcom Worldwide AB suspended its Metro Manila operations amid the Luzon-wide community quarantine.

Transcom Global English Region Chief Executive Officer Mark Lyndsell said in a mobile message sent by staff on Tuesday that the company is prioritizing the safety of employees.

“We temporarily suspended our operations in Manila and made sure our employees were able to travel safely and secured in their homes,” he said.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday announced an enhanced community quarantine in Luzon, which suspends public transportation and implements strict home quarantine.

Business process outsourcing firms, under the community quarantine memorandum, can remain operational under conditions that strict social distancing is applied and offices retain a minimal workforce. The offices are also required to provide temporary accommodations for employees by March 18.

The company is running payroll early.

Transcom’s five Philippine locations run a third of its global operations.

Mr. Lyndsell said work from home arrangements for some personnel had been in effect prior to the quarantine declaration.

“We have been sharing some of our work with other local and global sites,” he said.

Transcom also has Philippine sites in Bacolod and Iloilo.

“Transcom will follow the guidelines set by the government specifically for BPO companies’ continued operations in Metro Manila and we will be ready to resume work immediately within the given parameters.”

Suspension began Monday, while the date of resumption has not yet been announced.

The story has been updated to reflect a clarification made by Transcom.

Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson leave hospital after virus treatment

March 18, 2020 | 12:01 am

SYDNEY — Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have left a hospital in Australia’s Queensland state five days after testing positive for the coronavirus, People magazine reported on Monday.

The pair are now resting at a rented home in Australia and remain under quarantine in the house, the US magazine’s report said, citing a representative of the actor.

Last week, Hanks wrote on Twitter that he and Wilson had tested positive for the virus in Australia, where he is working on a film, after they felt tired and achy with slight fevers. Both Hanks and Wilson are 63 years old.

Hanks had traveled to the Gold Coast, on Australia’s east coast south of Brisbane, to begin filming a movie about Elvis Presley. He is set to play Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, in the Warner Bros. production. Warner Bros is owned by AT&T.

Hanks and Wilson were the first major American celebrities known to have contracted the coronavirus, which causes a disease, COVID-19, that has killed more than 70 people and infected more than 3,800 in the United States. — Reuters

BoJ pumps $30 billion through 3-month dollar operation, largest since 2008

March 18, 2020 | 12:01 am

THE BANK of Japan’s move came as global monetary authorities eased. — *WIKIPEDIA.ORG*

TOKYO — The Bank of Japan (BoJ) pumped $30.272 billion into markets on Tuesday with an 84-day dollar funding operation, its first after global central banks agreed this week to offer three-month credit to ease funding constraints amid the coronavirus crisis.

The takeup was the largest since the BoJ offered $30.584 billion in an 84-day dollar funding operation on Dec. 2, 2008, in the wake of the market turmoil triggered by the global financial crisis.

It also exceeded the $17 billion offered by the US Federal Reserve in its 84-day operation on Monday.

The BoJ’s move came after the world’s six major central banks took a joint step to provide more cash dollars on Sunday as a rout in financial market over the past week led to a scramble by banks and companies for dollar liquidity.

Yet, even after the Fed’s emergency 100-basis-point rate cut over the weekend and the renewal of its quantitative easing program to increase cash in markets, there was little noticeable easing in the rush for dollar financing.

Funding constrains could ease gradually after big dollar injections from the BoJ and other central banks, said Yusuke Ikawa, Japan strategist at BNP Paribas.

“Today’s results suggest that there are now abundant dollar cash at least among people who have access to the BoJ. The key point now is whether this money will spread to various companies and others that need them,” he said.

In one possible sign of some easing in stress, the dollar/yen basis swap — the additional costs dollar borrowers need in short-term dollar/yen swaps — have eased to 91 basis point from high of 142 basis points on Monday.

The BoJ also supplied $2.053 billion in a seven-day operation. — Reuters

Asian stocks fall after historic Wall Street plunge

March 18, 2020 | 12:01 am

TOKYO — Asian shares fell on Tuesday in a topsy-turvy session following one of Wall Street’s biggest one-day routs in history as headlines about the coronavirus outbreak and its global economic impact whiplashed investor sentiment.

Financial markets cratered on Monday with the S&P 500 tumbling 12%, its biggest drop since “Black Monday” three decades ago, as a series of emergency central bank rate cuts globally only added to the recent sense of investor panic.

While some markets such as US stock futures bounced in Asian trade after the major plunge, there were no convincing reasons for a sustained rally.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gave up early gains to trade 0.5% lower. Japan’s Nikkei stock index fell 0.06% and South Korea’s KOSPI was off 2.16%. Australian shares were up 2.73% although this followed a plunge of almost 10% on Monday.

“The move in US stock futures prompted some buying of battered down sharers and lifted dollar/yen,” said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.

“The focus is shifting to the fiscal response to the virus. We’re locked in a pattern where markets bounce and then resume falling.”

US stock futures rose by their daily limit in Asian trading, also driven in part by hopes for big US fiscal spending. This lifted some Asian bourses into positive territory, but the gains did not last.

Some $2.69 trillion in market value was wiped from the S&P 500 on Monday as it suffered its third-largest daily percentage decline on record. Over the past 18 days, the benchmark index has lost $8.28 trillion.

Gold, which is normally bought as a safe-haven, extended declines on Tuesday as some investors chose to sell whatever they could to keep their money in cash.

Oil futures rebounded in Asia, but downside risks remain due to an expected slump in global energy demand and Saudi Arabia’s plans to increase crude output to expand its market share.

The US Federal Reserve stunned investors with another emergency rate cut on Sunday, prompting other central banks to ease policy in the biggest coordinated response since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

Investors, however, are worried that central banks may have spent all their ammunition and that more draconian restrictions on personal movement are necessary to contain the global coronavirus outbreak.

Group of Seven finance ministers are likely to hold a call on Tuesday night, which has fueled speculation that a coordinated fiscal response could be in the works. — Reuters

NOTICE

Trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange, as well as clearing and settlement at the Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines, are suspended “until further notice” as Luzon is now under “enhanced community quarantine.

Manila Water extends payment date for bills

March 18, 2020 | 12:01 am

MANILA WATER CO., Inc. has extended the due date for the water bill payments of its customers in response to the month-long “enhanced community quarantine” set by the government on Luzon.

In a statement released yesterday, Manila Water announced that water bills with due dates that fall within the quarantine period are the ones that will be covered by the extension.

There are alternative payment modes in lieu of the “enhanced community quarantine” protocol set by the government. Customers who want to pay their bills can access other payment methods such as online banking and online payment channels such as GCash.

Manila Water President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Rene Gregory D. Almendras guaranteed that there is ample and uninterrupted water supply for all its customers, unless there are ongoing emergency repairs and maintenance activities.

“The welfare of our customers is our primary concern as we all work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our concern is for them not to go out and risk infection just to pay. We encourage them to follow President’s call to stay home,” he said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave