Emerging markets output growth hits three-month high in May -HSBC survey

LONDON, June 6 Fri Jun 6, 2014 6:44am EDT

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Business activity in emerging markets expanded at the fastest rate in three months in May, although growth was weak compared with developed markets and an index of future expectations hit a new low, a survey showed on Friday.

HSBC's composite emerging markets index of manufacturing and services purchasing managers' surveys rose to 50.6 in May from 50.4 in April, but remained well below its long-run trend level of 53.8.

Manufacturing output rose for the first time in three months, though at a weak rate, the data showed. In the services sector, activity increased at the slowest rate since last July.

"The reading of 50.6 in May compares with a developed world PMI equivalent of 55.4. While the former points to an ongoing languor that has plagued the emerging markets over the past year, the developed world has moved into a higher gear and is now enjoying its strongest growth for just over three years," Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said in a statement.

The HSBC index is calculated using data produced by Markit,

from purchasing managers at about 8,000 firms in 17 countries.

Among the BRIC emerging markets, China showed a slight increase in growth for the first time in four months while India posted its largest rise since June 2013.

Narendra Modi's pro-business BJP party won overwhelmingly in Indian elections in May, propelling Indian stock markets to record highs.

Russia, which has suffered some western sanctions following the conflict in Ukraine, saw output fall at its fastest rate since May 2009. Brazilian output was flat.

The future output index, which tracks firms' expectations for activity in 12 months' time, tumbled to a new low in May.

Brazil, which hosts the soccer World Cup this month and faces presidential elections later this year, reported the weakest output expectations among the BRIC economies. China's future output index hit a new low for the 26 months of data collection for the series. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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UPDATE 2-Japan PM pushes GPIF to buy more stocks, amid talk it already is

Fri Jun 6, 2014 6:34am EDT

* PM Abe urges faster reallocation of GPIF's $1.26 trln assets

* Speculation that the fund already buying stocks, selling bonds

* Shift to 20 pct stocks from 12 pct would be more than $100 bln (Recasts throughout with market impact, calculations)

By Takaya Yamaguchi and Chikafumi Hodo

TOKYO, June 6 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pressed the world's biggest pension fund on Friday to quicken a shift toward investing more in stocks and less in bonds amid market speculation the fund may already have started moving cash into riskier assets.

As Abe seeks to end nearly two decades of deflation, his government is pressing the $1.26 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund to diversify its domestic bond-centric portfolio into assets such as Japanese stocks to generate higher returns for the fast-greying population and boost economic activity.

GPIF's managers will begin an asset-allocation review next week which could easily pump more than $100 billion into the Tokyo stock market - more than the market value of Softbank Corp , Japan's second-largest company by market capitalization.

Global financial markets are keenly watching GPIF's strategy review because the fund - bigger than Mexico's economy - is a huge investor and a bellwether for other Japanese institutional investors.

"I believe a review in GPIF's allocation must take place as soon as possible," Health Minister Norihisa Tamura told a regular news conference after receiving the instruction from the premier.

Tamura, whose Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare oversees GPIF, would not say when the review will be completed, but market players had already been expecting results by around autumn, earlier than the initial target of March.

In recent weeks, expectations of fresh GPIF buying have helped Tokyo stocks rebound 8 percent to Friday's two-month high.

Some market participants wonder if GPIF may have begun shifting assets ahead of the formal reallocation, selling Japanese government bonds and buying shares.

Trust banks, for example, which manage much of GPIF's stock portfolio, bought an unusually large 246.6 billion yen of Japanese stocks more than they sold in the last week of May and 177.2 billion yen the previous week, Tokyo Stock Exchange data showed.

This brought their May purchases to 687.3 billion yen, the most since March 2009.

It is unclear how much of this money might be from GPIF, but market players view the trust-bank flows as a possible gauge of the giant fund's moves. Trust banks manage 70 percent of GPIF's passively managed stock portfolio.

Some bond traders, conversely, suspect GPIF sold Japanese government bonds (JGBs) last month, when selling was unusually heavy.

"We detected sales totalling about 100-150 billion yen in a week shortly after the Golden Week holiday" in early May, one JGB dealer said. "Such massive sales emerged in several other days in May."

Another bond trader at a Japanese financial institution said there was selling across all bond maturities, which would be consistent with GPIF shrinking its bond portfolio within its currently mandated limits.

GPIF targets 12 percent of its assets in Japanese stocks, 60 percent domestic bonds, 11 percent foreign bonds, 12 percent foreign stocks and 5 percent short-term assets. The fund has wiggle room of 6 percentage points either side of the core target for domestic stocks and 8 points for JGBs.

GPIF said in January it would employ its asset allocations more flexibly, allowing it avoid having to sell into rallies or buy on declines.

Yasuhiro Yonezawa, the recently appointed head of GPIF's investment committee, told the Nikkei business daily this week that the fund could raise its investment in domestic stocks to 20 percent.

An increase to 20 percent from 12 percent would represent a shift of 10.8 trillion yen ($105.39 billion) into stocks, more than Softbank's 9.35 trillion yen market capitalisation.

Founded in 2001, GPIF conducted the biggest shake-up of its investment strategy a year ago by revising its allocation targets to raise the core weighting for Japanese stocks while lowering that for domestic bonds. ($1 = 102.4750 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi and Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill)

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UPDATE 1-Bulgaria's ruling party leader backs calls for early election

Fri Jun 6, 2014 6:39am EDT

* Socialist leader hints at election by year-end

* Pressure on government growing after poor EU election result

* Political instability has thwarted reforms

* Rift in coalition over South Stream pipeline (Adds details, background)

By Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov

SOFIA, June 6 (Reuters) - The head of Bulgaria's ruling Socialist party backed calls on Friday for an early election, setting the clock ticking on an unpopular minority government that looks increasingly unlikely to survive into next year.

Pressure has mounted on technocrat Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski's government since May's European parliament elections, which the centre-right opposition GERB party won by a bigger-than-expected margin.

The Socialists have been in power for a year, and their time in office has been dogged by months of street protests over corruption in the European Union's poorest country, and a series of parliamentary no-confidence votes.

If the government falls it would be second such collapse in two years after a GERB-led administration fell in February 2013.

The long period of political instability has thwarted any meaningful attempts at reform in the country of 7.3 million, such as tackling graft, cleaning up the judiciary and overhauling inefficient education and healthcare sectors.

On Thursday, the junior partner in the coalition government, the ethnic Turkish MRF, called for an election by the end of the year.

Socialist leader Sergei Stanishev said he would start consultations with partners and other political parties on when new elections should be held.

"I do not think that the idea for such vote to be in a year is appropriate. The election should not be delayed, given that there is a lack of stronger public support," he told reporters on Friday.

Stanishev dismissed opposition calls for a snap poll but at the same time hinted an election could take place within months. He said a "new parliament" should approve next year's budget, a process that must take place by the end of 2014.

COALITION RIFTS

Rifts have emerged between the Socialists and MRF, most recently over Bulgaria's refusal to stop work on the South Stream gas pipeline across the Black Sea, whose fate has become entangled in the dispute between the West and Russia over Ukraine.

The Socialists, many of whose core voters are pro-Russian, want the Russian-led project to continue, while the MRF said Bulgaria should not act without Brussels' support.

While new elections will end the current political stalemate, analysts say voters are likely to elect another fragmented parliament that could in turn produce another unstable coalition government.

Prime Minister Oresharski's government relies on the support of a hardline nationalist party to stay in power and pass laws.

The Socialists won just 19 percent of the vote in the May 25 election, while GERB won 30 percent. The result has prompted the opposition to call another no-confidence vote against the government, which will take place next week.

At Friday's press conference, Stanishev also proposed the introduction of compulsory voting to boost the credibility of Bulgaria's electoral process. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov; editing by Matthias Williams and John Stonestreet)

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RPT-Fitch: Foreign Tax Exemption Can Disguise US Multinational Risks

Thu Jun 5, 2014 6:29am EDT

(Repeat for additional subscribers)

June 5 (Reuters) - (The following statement was released by the rating agency)

High levels of undistributed foreign earnings can flatter the post-tax earnings and credit metrics of US multinationals, potentially leading investors to underestimate the financial risk of an issuer, Fitch Ratings says. We address this in our ratings by evaluating the credit profile of both the domestic and consolidated entity and potentially taking rating action if these profiles become unbalanced.

Undistributed foreign earnings (UFE), the profits earned by foreign subsidiaries that have not been remitted back to the parent, are growing fast for many US multinationals. While US corporations are taxed on worldwide earnings, this normally happens only when those overseas earnings are distributed to the US parent. Additionally, US accounting rules exempt corporates from having to recognise deferred tax liabilities on these earnings if they will be indefinitely reinvested abroad.

This means investors can underestimate credit risk, because companies may not be able to access their entire reported cash balance without having to pay significant taxes.

There are several circumstances in which US multinationals may need to remit cash back to the US, crystallising a tax liability. These include if the domestic business cannot support cash expenses including returns to shareholder and debt service, or if debt maturities arise at a time when markets are shut and the debt cannot be refinanced. A crackdown on the tax mitigation strategies many companies use could also lead to the creation of tax liabilities that did not previously need to be recorded.

Our analysis of 40 large US multinational companies shows UFE can have a significant impact on both earnings and credit metrics. On average the exemption from recording a tax liability on the difference between foreign and US tax rates boosted basic earnings per share by 18%. Applying a conservative haircut to FFO to account for US taxes on foreign earnings, FFO adjusted leverage for the sample rose by an average of 0.3x.

We address these potential distortions by evaluating the financial profile of both the foreign activities and the domestic business, which must pay returns to shareholders and debt holders purely from its domestic and received foreign earnings. A deteriorating domestic credit profile can lead to rating action. This was a factor in our revision of Coca-Cola's Outlook to Negative from Stable in February.

For more details on our approach to UFEs and the impact they can have on credit metrics, see the report "Phantom Earnings: Offshore Accounts of US Multinationals Will Come Back to Haunt Investors", published today on www.fitchratings.com.

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GLOBAL MARKETS-Europe stocks hold steady, euro hostage to ECB decision

Thu Jun 5, 2014 6:38am EDT

* Euro holds near lows, seen hostage to ECB decision

* ECB widely expected to cut rates, may unveil loan programme

* European shares steady in low volume

* G7 leaders meet on economy, energy security in focus (Updates prices, detaches series from earlier versions)

By Nigel Stephenson

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - European shares held steady and the euro hovered near four-month lows against the dollar on Thursday, with the common currency hostage to expectations the European Central Bank will ease monetary policy to support a fragile economic recovery.

In anticipation of lower interest rates, some euro zone government bond yields fell. This helped push the premium that two-year U.S. government debt offers over euro zone benchmarks to its widest since 2007.

In one of its most keenly awaited decisions in years, the ECB is expected on Thursday to impose negative interest rates.

Economists in a Reuters poll forecast the ECB would cut its main refinancing rate to 0.10 percent from 0.25 percent and its overnight deposit rate to -0.10 percent from zero. It may also launch a programme of cheap loans to banks to encourage them to lend.

The consensus view that the central bank will act is so strong that analysts see scope for market disappointment if it fails to meet these high expectations.

ECB President Mario Draghi has expressed concern that a strong euro is contributing to a slowing of inflation that could derail the recovery in the 18-country euro zone.

Steve Barrow, G10 strategist at Standard Bank, said in a note ECB officials would "have their fingers crossed" for a weaker euro but that the outcome was not certain.

"Achieving a weaker euro means fighting two enemies: economic fundamentals and market lethargy. Put the two together and the chances of significant success for the ECB seem limited," he said.

The euro edged up to $1.3611. It has fallen some 4 cents since the ECB's May meeting, hitting $1.3588 a week ago.

Some in the market said the euro could rebound if the ECB did not offer a surprise.

"Investors could cut some of their euro shorts helping euro/dollar higher towards $1.3700 if the ECB delivers but does not exceed market expectations," said Valentin Marinov, currency strategist at Citi.

DOWNSIDE RISKS

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 share index was up 0.03 percent at 1030 GMT in very low volumes as investors moved to the sidelines before the ECB meeting.

"Stocks seem capped at the moment and risks are mostly on the downside if the ECB doesn't deliver. It's very difficult to predict what the new measures will be. It's best to be neutral equities right now," said Arnaud Scarpaci, fund manager at Montaigne Capital in Paris.

Wall Street stock futures were down a shade, though the ECB decision, due at 1145 GMT, and any announcement bank chief Mario Draghi might make in his news conference beginning at 1230 GMT should be clear before the U.S. market opens.

Also on Thursday, leaders of the world's leading industrial countries were meeting Paris for talks on the economy.

The talks are expected to reiterate that all members of the Group of Seven must focus on sustaining economic recovery and tightening regulations to prevent banking sector problems.

Asian shares earlier edged higher, shrugging off a fall in HSBC/Markit's measure of Chinese service sector activity. It dipped to 50.7 in May from 51.4 in April, staying above the 50-point level that divides growth from contraction.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent.

Japan's Nikkei ended 0.08 percent higher at 15,079, a near three-month closing high as yen weakness lifted the mood.

Emerging markets shares measured by MSCI were up 0.2 percent.

Trading volumes on Wall Street were light before the ECB meeting. The S&P 500 index edged up to a new record close as investors brushed off weaker-than-expected jobs data and focused on an acceleration in service-sector growth

The dollar index. which measures the greenback against a currency basket, held steady. The U.S. currency eased 0.3 percent to 102.46 yen.

U.S. Treasury yields came off overnight highs as investors took profit on a recent rally before the ECB meeting. Ten-year yields were at 2.58 percent.

In commodity markets, copper edged up after suffering its biggest one-day fall since mid-April amid jitters about the impact on financing deals from a probe at a Chinese port.

Benchmark copper was changing hands at $6,775 a tonne, having shed 1.2 percent on Wednesday.

Gold idled at $1,244.30 an ounce <XAU=, pinned near a recent four-month trough of $1,240.61.

Brent crude eased to $108 a barrel on reduced tension in Ukraine and ample supply in the United States. (Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney, Jamie McGeever, Anirban Nag and Emelia Sithole-Matarise in London and Blaise Robinson in Paris: editing by John Stonestreet)

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Official-Correction to text, May 28, 2014 release-Update-Moody's assigns B3 CFR, B3-PD PDR to Alison, outlook positive

Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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UPDATE 1-Lithuania ready to adopt euro from 2015, Commission says

Wed Jun 4, 2014 6:48am EDT

(Adds ECB opinion, Lithuanian reaction, more Commission)

By Jan Strupczewski and Andrius Sytas

BRUSSELS/VILNIUS, June 4 (Reuters) - Lithuania meets all the criteria for joining the euro, the European Commission said on Wednesday, clearing the way for the Baltic state to become the 19th member of the single currency from the start of next year.

To adopt the euro, a country has to have government debt no higher than 60 percent of gross domestic product, a budget deficit below 3 percent of GDP, low inflation and interest rates and its own currency has to be stable against the euro.

For a factbox on all the criteria see.

Of the 28 countries in the European Union, only Britain and Denmark do not have to strive to adopt the euro because they have negotiated formal opt-outs.

All the others are supposed to switch to the single currency at some point provided they meet the criteria. The Commission assesses such compliance every two years in what it calls a convergence report.

"The 2014 Convergence Report concludes that Lithuania meets the criteria for adopting the euro. As a consequence, the Commission is proposing that Lithuania adopt the euro on 1 January 2015," the Commission said.

The European Central Bank, which must give its opinion on the readiness of a country to join, also said Vilnius was ready but warned about maintaining low inflation rates.

"Maintaining low inflation rates on a sustainable basis in Lithuania will be challenging in the medium term, as it may be difficult to control domestic prices pressures and avoid economic overheating in an environment of fixed exchange rates," the ECB said.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told a news conference that while the ECB and Commission reports differed in nuance the inflation outlook was not worrying.

He said the Commission expected inflation in Lithuania to accelerate to 1.1 percent this year and 1.8-1.9 percent in 2015 from a 12-month average of 0.6 percent measured to April 2014.

"The analysis of fundamentals ... clearly support a positive assessment of the price stability criterion," Rehn said.

The formal decision to accept Lithuania into the euro zone will be taken by EU finance ministers in the second half of July, at which point the ministers will also agree on a conversion rate of the litas currency into the euro.

"We'll be in the club of the strongest, we'll be able to take part in the decisions ourselves - currently we are on the other side of the door," Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said during a visit to Poland.

"We'll be trusted more, which means we'll be able to borrow cheaper, so we'll have more money left over for pensions and other things," she said.

The Lithuanian central bank estimates that not being part of the euro zone cost Lithuania about 2 billion litas, or roughly 2 percent of annual GDP, in increased borrowing costs during the world financial crisis.

The remaining seven countries that remain outside the euro zone - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden - do not meet all of the criteria to adopt the currency.

Romania would like to adopt the euro in 2019. None of the other six has set a firm date for accession.

With the addition of Lithuania's 3.4 million people, the euro zone will have a total population of 336 million and a GDP of approximately $9.5 trillion. The single currency was launched in 1999 and started trading as notes and coins in Europe Jan. 1, 2002. (Additional reporting by Eva Taylor in Frankfurt and Martin Santa in Brussels. Editing by Luke Baker)

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MOVES-HSBC Holdings, BCS Financial Group, Alixpartners

June 4 Wed Jun 4, 2014 6:20am EDT

June 4 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Wednesday. To inform us of other job changes, email to moves@thomsonreuters.com.

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC

The bank has named Martin Haythorne and Che Ning Liu as co-heads of banking for Asia Pacific, according to an internal memo, taking on roles that involve managing the bank's relationships with top clients in the region. Haythorne and Liu will take over on Sept. 1 the role previously held by Russell Julius, who is transferring to London, according to the internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

BCS FINANCIAL GROUP

The Russian asset manager appointed Vladimir Tikhomirov as its new chief economist. Tikhomirov joins BCS from Otkritie Financial Corp where he has worked as chief economist since 2010.

ALIXPARTNERS

The business advisory firm said it appointed Lian Hoon Lim as managing director to its enterprise improvement group. Previously, Lim worked at Singapore-based global container-shipper and logistics company Neptune Orient Lines Ltd as senior vice president of group strategy and planning.

U.S. CAPITAL ADVISORS LLC

In a big gain for a regional Texas firm, 3-year-old U.S. Capital Advisors hired five brokers over the last two weeks from UBS AG's Wealth Management Americas and JPMorgan Chase & Co, who together managed a combined $500 million in client assets. The four-person team from UBS, led by Todd Lavergne, officially started Tuesday, May 27, while Amanda Ton, previously of J.P. Morgan Securities, began May 19. (Compiled by Lehar Maan in Bangalore)

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German bonds firm up as investors prepare for ECB to act

Wed Jun 4, 2014 6:58am EDT

* Sell-off subsides as policy easing looms

* Media reports reiterate ECB dovishness

* Germany avoids third straight auction failure

* Investors still see juice in peripheral rally (Adds fresh quotes, updates prices)

By John Geddie

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - German bond yields firmed up on Wednesday and the country avoided a third successive uncovered auction ahead of what is expected to be a strong set of policy easing measures from the European Central Bank.

A bout of investor nervousness that pushed euro zone borrowing costs higher on Tuesday appeared to subside as markets waited for a package of steps from the ECB aimed at fighting low inflation and propping up the bloc's economic recovery.

"It is widely expected that the ECB will make modest moves in rates, such as lower the refi and deposit rate together, and will hold out the prospect of more easing in the months to come," said Ciaran O'Hagan, strategist at Societe Generale.

"The prospect of 'more to come' will keep the bullish, dovish dynamic alive."

Media reports overnight appeared to underline the ECB's readiness to act at Thursday's meeting as well as signaling future policy action. Bloomberg cited unnamed central bank officials as saying ECB President Mario Draghi is likely to say that any rate cut this week won't necessarily be the last even though the deposit rate is expected to move into negative territory for the first time.

One official added that an anticipated scheme designed to boost lending to small and mid-sized firms could see the ECB offering banks funding equivalent to 5 percent of their outstanding loan portfolios.

Commerzbank estimates that such a scheme, based on all outstanding euro area bank loans, could amount to as much as 530 billion euros, while if it is just limited to non-financial peripheral corporations it would be around 90 billion euros.

Some, such as BNP Paribas strategist Patrick Jacq, say the ECB may even signal it will launch an asset purchase scheme, as other major central banks have done.

However, others pointed to Tuesday's sell-off as evidence that the ECB could still disappoint.

"With every man and his dog expecting rate cuts and conditional liquidity measures, positioning has become overly lopsided and market participants started to see the risk of disappointment in the details of the ECB's easing package," said Commerzbank in a research note.

Ten-year German bond yields, the benchmark for euro zone lending, opened one basis point lower at 1.35 percent, reversing some of Tuesday's losses which saw yields rise as much as seven basis points.

The firmer backdrop helped support demand at a sale of five-year German bonds on Wednesday, as it managed to avoid a third successive uncovered auction.

'SOME JUICE LEFT'

In the periphery, yields on Spanish and Italian bond inched 1bp higher to 2.87 and 3.00 percent, respectively, but still remain just above record lows.

Investors say signs of rebounding economic growth and accommodative central bank policy means there is still value in the bloc's most vulnerable debt securities.

Spain's service sector expanded for the seventh month running in May, while Italy's expanded for the second straight month, data showed on Wednesday.

"We think there is still some juice left," said Philip Poole, head of global research at Deutsche Asset Management.

"With the ECB introducing negative deposit rates, there is a desire on the part of investors for yield and the periphery is still offering decent upside."

While many argue the differing economic cycles on either side of the Atlantic have seen a decoupling in U.S. and euro zone rates products, investors will still be keeping a close eye on U.S. ADP employment data due out later on Wednesday.

That data, a precursor to Friday's nonfarm payroll release, comes amid calls from some U.S. Federal Reserve officials to start raising rates steeply once it has finished winding down its programme of asset buying. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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CORRECTED-MOVES-(June 2) Goldman Sachs, UBS, BofA Merrill, Houlihan Lokey, Aviva

Tue Jun 3, 2014 6:03am EDT

(Corrects Aquiline Capital Partners item to say the last name of the new appointee is La Ruffa, not Ruffa)

June 3 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Monday. To inform us of other job changes, email to moves@thomsonreuters.com.

UBS AG

The Swiss bank named Mark Haefele as chief investment officer of its flagship private bank, replacing Alexander Friedman who is leaving the bank. Haefele previously reported to Friedman, who joined UBS in 2011 and developed a unified investing view for the Swiss bank's wealthy clients.

BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH

The U.S. bank has named Tim Waddell, a 28-year veteran of rival UBS, as vice chairman of corporate and investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC

The investment banking firm said Stephen Scherr will become chief strategy officer at the start of 2015, replacing Andrew Chisolm who will retire after nearly 30 years. Scherr has been global head of Goldman's financing group within the investment banking division since 2008.

HOULIHAN LOKEY

The international investment bank said Jennifer Muller has been appointed co-head of the firm's transaction opinions practice alongside Chris Croft, who has been leading the practice since 2010. Both Muller and Croft are managing directors in the firm's financial advisory services business.

MITSUBISHI UFJ SECURITIES HOLDINGS CO LTD

Geoffrey Coley has been appointed as international business head by Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. Geoff joins the organization with over 30 years' experience in financial services with majority of his career at Citigroup.

AVIVA INVESTORS

The asset management arm of UK-based insurer Aviva has recruited Susan Ebenston as new chief operating officer to oversee technology, operations and performance. In a statement on Monday, Aviva Investors said Ebenston joins from Westpac Group in Australia where she was chief compliance officer. Ebenston will report to the division's Chief Executive, Euan Munro, who joined Aviva from rival Standard Life at the start of 2014 with a remit to boost performance.

AQUILINE CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC

The private equity firm said it appointed Vincenzo La Ruffa as financial technology specialist. La Ruffa was managing director and co-founder of Susquehanna Growth Equity. Previously, he held positions at NGP Energy Technology Partners, EnerTech Capital, and Deutsche Bank.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP

The exchange said it had appointed former Espirito Santo investment banker, John Millar, head of primary markets. Millar will focus on generating initial public offerings and report to Raffaele Jerusalmi, LSE's director of capital markets and chief executive of Borsa Italiana, and London Stock Exchange CEO Alexander Justham, the group said in a statement.

BANK OF JAPAN

The Japanese central bank will reappoint Masayoshi Amamiya, an architect of its quantitative easing, for a rare second term as an executive director to oversee a division that determines monetary policy options, people with direct knowledge of the process said.

NATIXIS GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT

The asset manager hired Scott MacLean, Gerry Burke and Mike Schnackenberg as sales managers in its UK wholesale and retail team. The firm also added Harriet Chatfield to its sales support team. Natixis said all four will report to Darren Pilbeam, head of UK retail sales.

METRO BANK PLC

The UK-based bank appointed Sam Mackenzie-Carmichael as commercial banking director for local authorities. Mackenzie-Carmichael joins Metro Bank from independent treasury advisory company Arlingclose, where she advised local authorities on their debt and investment portfolios.

BARNETT WADDINGHAM LLP

The UK-based pension consultant said it promoted Jonathan Daykin, Paul Leandro and Simon Taylor to the position of partners. With these promotions, the firm now has 62 partners in total, Barnett said.

SL CAPITAL PARTNERS

The private equity fund said it was promoting Chief Operating Officer Ian Harris to the position of partner. Harris will continue to lead finance, operations and fund administration teams and oversee the fund's third-party relationships, SL Capital said. The fund also appointed David Thompson as legal director. (Compiled by Lehar Maan and Shailaja Sharma in Bangalore)

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