Banking

BLOOMBERG  UBS Group AG plans to retain a few hundred Credit Suisse private bankers in the Asia Pacific region, bringing its total to more than 1,200 in one of the few areas spared from deep cuts, according to people familiar with the matter. The move is being driven by global wealth chief Iqbal Khan, who is betting Asia will continue ...

BLOOMBERG  China’s central bank surprised most economists and market participants by cutting a short-term policy interest rate, a sign that officials are increasingly concerned about faltering growth and are stepping up stimulus to boost the recovery. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) lowered the seven-day reverse repurchase rate by 10 basis points to 1.9% on Tuesday, the first reduction in ...

BLOOMBERG  India’s disinflation process is “likely to be slow and protracted” and the central bank may meet its 4% target only in the medium term, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Tuesday. “The cumulative impact of our monetary policy actions over the last one year is still unfolding and yet to materialise fully,” Governor Das said ...

BLOOMBERG  Indians will probably sell a record amount of used gold jewelry this year to take advantage of a surge in domestic prices of the precious metal, according to the World Gold Council. If local prices continue to rise, recycled bullion sales are expected to jump more than 20% and match the previous high of 119.5 tons set in 2019, ...

BLOOMBERG  Banco Santander SA has closed down its UK-based equity research team as it shifts analysis of companies to its headquarters outside Madrid, according to two people familiar with the matter. Four London-based analysts have left the lender, which had offered them the option of relocating to Spain, according to the people, who can’t be named because the matter isn’t ...

BLOOMBERG  UBS Group AG will host a major conference in Hong Kong next year to carry on the tradition of Credit Suisse Group AG after acquiring its former Swiss rival earlier this week. The event will be held from May 27 to 29 next year in Hong Kong, according to Tim Wannenmacher, co-head of global markets for Asia-Pacific at UBS. ...

BLOOMBERG  European Central Bank (ECB) officials called for interest rates to be lifted further — seeking additional reassurance on the inflation front as they look past more signs of weakness in the euro-zone economy. Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot said he’s “not yet convinced that the current tightening is sufficient,” telling lawmakers in the Netherlands that “inflation could well ...

BLOOMBERG  Standard Chartered Plc agreed to sell its Zimbabwe business to the country’s FBC Holdings Ltd as it presses ahead with plans to exit seven markets in Africa and the Middle East. The emerging markets-focussed bank will transfer 100% of its shareholding in the unit, including the custodial services business, to FBCH, as the investment holding company is known. FBCH ...

BLOOMBERG  China’s four big state lenders have effectively cut dollar deposit rates, according to people familiar with the matter, at a time when strong demand for the US currency in the banking system helped push the yuan to a six-month low. The banks have lowered the ceiling on the rates — which are a spread over the US Secured Overnight ...

BLOOMBERG  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its key interest rate unchanged for a second meeting and retained its tightening stance, signalling rate-setters want to see inflation moderating further while weaker monsoon risks remain a concern. A six-member monetary policy committee voted unanimously to keep the benchmark repurchase rate at 6.50%. All 40 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted ...