Bloomberg Nigerian banks have been hit by an exodus of tech talent, chief executives of the nation’s lenders say. “So many of our very experienced talents especially in the area of software engineering are either leaving the industry or leaving the country,†Abubakar Suleiman, chief executive officer of Sterling Bank Plc, told reporters at the end of a meeting ...
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ECB renews its pledge to end bond-buying
Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) renewed its pledge to end bond-buying in the coming months, as record inflation raises the odds it will also lift interest rates for the first time in more than a decade before the year is out. The Governing Council reiterated that it will halt net asset purchases in the third quarter — an accelerated ...
Read More »Bank of America traders get boost from market volatility
Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) joined Wall Street rivals in capitalising on market volatility while also benefiting from an increase in lending. The company’s trading operation posted $4.72 billion in revenue, down just 7.1% from a year earlier after analysts expected a 16% decline. The best results were in the equities business, which posted a 9.5% gain, the ...
Read More »Barclays’ ‘opaque’ pension plan deals draw regulatory scrutiny
Bloomberg UK regulators have warned banks against carrying out complex pension plan deals that are structured to delay any hit to capital reserves, a broadside that analysts say could affect Barclays Plc. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said in a statement that lenders should avoid entering into agreements that defer the impact of pension scheme contributions as they could ...
Read More »Wells Fargo announces $210 million initiative to expand racial equity
Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. announced a $210 million effort to expand racial equity in residential lending after a Bloomberg News investigation found the bank approved Black homeowners seeking to refinance mortgages in the pandemic at a far lower rate than White ones. The firm, the biggest mortgage lender among US banks, is committing $150 million beyond its usual ...
Read More »Morgan Stanley, Citi emerge as winners of earnings blitz
Bloomberg Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc. shares outperformed their peers on stronger-than-expected results after five of the six largest US banks reported first-quarter earnings this week. Both banks’ shares posted initial advances of at least 3.5% before paring their gains amid a broader market pullback. The move higher was bolstered by big gains from their fixed income and equities ...
Read More »ABN Amro apologises for historical links to slavery
Bloomberg ABN Amro Bank NV has apologized for its historic involvement in slavery, after a report revealed the rise of some of the bank’s predecessors were closely linked to the slave trade. The Dutch lender said its predecessor, Hope & Co., played a “pivotal role†in the international slave trade of the 18th century and was actively involved in ...
Read More »Argentina raises key rate to 47%
Bloomberg Argentina’s central bank raised interest rates for the fourth time this year after inflation data published earlier in the day showed prices increasing at the fastest monthly pace in 20 years. The monetary authority increased its benchmark Leliq rate by 250 basis points to 47%, according to a statement. The rate hike also boosts the effective annual rate, ...
Read More »Ukraine crisis: Big banks to post weaker deal revenue
Bloomberg Wall Street’s dealmaking boom came to an abrupt halt amid the war in Ukraine and a global shift towards rising interest rates, leaving big banks set to post a quarterly slump in investment banking revenue. The record merger-and-acquisition pipelines bank executives touted at the start of 2022 are still on the horizon, but have been put on the ...
Read More »RBNZ’s biggest hike in 22 years sounds global inflation warning
Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank delivered its biggest interest-rate increase in 22 years, signaling that policy makers around world may need to step up efforts to get inflation under control. The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee lifted the official cash rate by half a percentage point to 1.5% in Wellington, the first time it has delivered an increase of ...
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