Melbourne, Jan. 12 : In the wake of Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services'' billion dollar corporate scandal, the management of ANZ Bank has announced that it will reviewing its links with the firm.

ANZ Bank has around 100 Satyam contractors who support IT projects. The bank''s Indian subsidiary which employs under 2000 people, primarily uses these contractors.

Last week, the bank told its employees that it would develop a contingency plan, while admitting that its relationship with Satyam was "modest".

Axis Bank continues better-than-expected performance and has posted and increase in its net profit for the sixth quarter in a row. The bank has posted a net profit of 63 per cent at Rs 501 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Its net profit was Rs 307 crore in the same period last year.

The Chairman and CEO of Axis Bank, Dr. Nayak said, "The NIM and cost of fund will re-equilibrate this quarter with interest rates going down." He said that growth in asset size and strong fee income helped to increase net for Q3.

New York, Jan. 10 : Ten international banks, including British-based Lloyds laundered "billions of dollars" for Iran through New York banks, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced Friday.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, the scheme helped Iran turn its dirty money into greenbacks, which it could then use to buy goods prohibited by international sanctions.

Some of the money went to fund terrorist groups like the Hamas and Hezbollah, and to help Iran get materials, including tungsten, for long-range missiles, sources said.

Frankfurt - Shares in Germany's second biggest bank Commerzbank AG plummeted more than 14 per cent Friday after the government said it was part nationalizing the Frankfurt-based bank to help shore up its finances in the face of the global economic crisis.

Commerzbank shares have come under pressure in recent weeks with the German Government's announcement that it was planning to hold a 25-per-cent plus-one-share stake in the bank coming in the wake of market speculation that it needed fresh capital to boost its balance sheet.

Seoul - South Korea's central bank on Friday lowered its key interest rate to 2.5 per cent, the fifth cut in three months, to help kick-start the country's economy.

The Bank of Korea's monetary policy committee lowered the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate by 0.5 per cent, its lowest level on record.

"Domestic economic activity is slackening at a rapid pace," the bank said.