Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc has already paid a painful penalty for secretly moving billions of dollars through the US on behalf of Iranian clients, in violation of sanctions. But a sweeping investigation has found evidence suggesting that the bank’s Iranian business was more extensive than it admitted, according to five people familiar with the matter. Now US authorities are weighing …

Bloomberg India has asked its central bank to prepare a list of candidates for merger among 21 government-controlled lenders as it seeks to strengthen a banking system laden with bad debt, people familiar with the matter said. In a meeting this month, finance ministry officials also asked the Reserve Bank of India to suggest a time frame for the consolidation, …

Bloomberg Westpac Banking Corp. raised its key mortgage rate, the first of the nation’s biggest banks to decide passing on higher funding costs is worth the risk of further reputational damage. Its variable standard home-loan rate for owner occupiers will rise 14 basis points to 5.38 percent, the Sydney-based lender said in a statement. The move reflects “a sustained increase …

Bloomberg China’s biggest banks posted stable earnings growth in the second quarter, boosted by tighter liquidity even as the broader sector struggled with government policies. Profits at four of the five largest lenders rose at least 5 percent in the three months through June, as President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on riskier financiers pushed business to large state-connected banks. The results …

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing has a stark message for the thousands of banks spread out across the European Union: bulk up or die. “The pressure to consolidate will rise significantly in Europe,” Sewing said. An increase in regulatory requirements, in addition to an already-pressing need for investment in information technology will “overwhelm” many banks, he …

Bloomberg Oil traded near the highest closing level in more than two weeks on estimates that US crude inventories fell and as the prospect of a new US-Mexico trade pact spurred wider financial-market optimism. Futures held near $69 a barrel in New York as President Donald Trump said the US is pursuing a new trade accord with Mexico to replace …

SANTIAGO / WAM Abdul Razzaq Mohamed Hadi, UAE Ambassador to Chile, met with Susana Jimenez, Minister of Energy of Chile, and Francisco Chahuan, member of the Chilean Senate and Chairman of the UAE-Chilean Parliamentary Friendship Group. During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation and mutual investment with Chile in the renewable energy sector and the possibility …

Bloomberg Total SA’s withdrawal from Iran’s giant South Pars gas field has given China another chance to secure a stake in the world’s most coveted energy assets: abundant and low-cost Middle Eastern oil and gas. Chinese companies have invested in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Iran in recent years, and have expressed interest in oil and gas projects in …

Bloomberg SpiceJet Ltd. completed its maiden flight using a blend of aviation fuel and oil from jatropha seeds, furthering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for greater use of alternative resources to cut India’s dependence on oil imports. A Bombardier Q400 aircraft made the one-way trip to New Delhi from the city of Dehradun, about 200 kilometres from the capital. The …

Bloomberg Italy’s gas pipeline operator Snam SpA signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s State Grid International Development as part of Finance Minister Giovanni Tria’s trip to the Asian country. Snam and State Grid International, a unit of the biggest Chinese power distributor, agreed to examine a range of opportunities in China and elsewhere, with a focus on the use …