National Australia Bank said today it agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Calibre Asset Management for an undisclosed amount. The move comes as Australian banks look to expand into the fast-growing Asian asset management industry. (The Australian)

Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Morgan Stanley will merge only part of the US firm’s Japan brokerage operation with MUFG’s, revising their earlier pact, the Nikkei business daily reported on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Financial companies in the mainland and Taiwan are looking across the strait for opportunities after their respective regulators agreed to widen access to each other’s markets. (the Standard)

The chief executive of AMP, Craig Dunn, is intensifying the campaign to have takeover target Axa Asia Pacific return to the negotiating table by declaring the market likes the potential merger, while vowing to increase the superannuation contributions made to AMP staff. (The Australian)

Macquarie Group has warned it could be forced to increase the cash component of its bankers’ salaries if shareholders reject a proposal to change its remuneration plans. (The Australian)

A former HSBC wealth manager in Singapore, who forged a customer’s signature on a telegraphic transfer application form for the transfer of S$20k, was jailed for two weeks on Tuesday. (Straits Times)

Temasek, Singapore’s state investment company, sold its first ever tranche of 30-year bonds on Tuesday, just a month after completing its first bond sale in four years. (Financial Times)