Financial Business Update: ING Divests First Asian Asset, Morgan Stanley’s Court Ruling

ING Groep (NYSE:ING) divests the first of its Asian assets, a 33.3 percent interest in China Merchants Fund for $128 million. Likely due to pressure from regulators in Europe, it’s only the first such sale of its Asian insurance and asset management units.

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Shares of Alliance Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ALNC) shot to an all-time Monday high following word that it has agreed to a takeover by NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ:NBTB) in a transaction valued at approximately $233 million, which unifies the two upstate New York lenders. Alliance shareholders will receive 2.1779 shares of NBT common stock, or about $48.24 per share based on Friday’s close, which represents a 22 percent premium.

A judge has ruled that Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) can not take protection in Moody’s to avoid the brunt of a lawsuit brought by investors in a subprime-backed investment vehicle. The plaintiffs allege that Morgan gave bad information to Moody’s, which resulted in inflated ratings that were higher than they should have been.

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