Banking

  Bloomberg UniCredit SpA signaled a hit of about 200 basis points to its capital buffers in an “extreme scenario” in which its Russian banking assets are wiped out, joining European lenders detailing the potential fallout from the financial turmoil after the Ukraine invasion. The Milan-based bank doesn’t consider an extreme scenario — the entirety of its exposure to the ...

  Bloomberg Countries around the globe face a challenge in replacing supply of commodities from Russia and Ukraine that has been cut off by the war and should remove restraints to production, according to the World Bank chief. Nations could look at easing constraints such as the Jones Act in the US—which requires that ships moving between ports be built ...

  Bloomberg A group of banks led by UniCredit SpA is considering options including a state-backed guarantee for a 850 million euros bridge-loan for troubled Italian engineering firm Saipem SpA, according to people familiar with the matter. The team of banks, which includes Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, started discussing the option in a confidential meeting, the people said, asking not to ...

Bloomberg The European Central Bank is concerned that lenders’ balance sheets could suffer a series of hits after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine plunged the global economy and markets into turmoil. The regulator has told banks to assess whether they need to set aside money for potential losses not just on loans to Russian firms, but also on lending to companies ...

  Bloomberg Royal Bank of Canada, Shopify Inc. and Bullfrog Power Inc. have agreed to buy a combined 90,000 megawatt-hours of energy a year from a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. wind farm in Canada. The firms are purchasing the power from Berkshire Hathaway Energy Canada’s 130-megawatt Rattlesnake Ridge Wind Power Project in southeast Alberta, according to a release Wednesday. The project, ...

  Bloomberg China asked its biggest financial firms and other state-owned enterprises to report the extent of their exposure to derivatives contracts following wild swings in nickel and other commodities that embroiled one of the country’s largest banks. At least two Chinese banks held urgent internal meetings about their clients’ exposure on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter ...

  Bloomberg China should draft new laws and regulations for the digital yuan to address privacy concerns and clarify how it operates, a senior Chinese state bank official proposed. The new law should clearly define the duty of the central bank to protect users’ privacy and make sure their information is only accessible for the purpose of protecting national security, ...

  Bloomberg The chances of enacting President Joe Biden’s stalled Build Back Better Act have increased as a result of the war in Ukraine, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists. The prospect of a ban on Russian oil imports may give the legislation— and the more than $550 billion earmarked to fight climate change — a second chance, potentially ...

  Bloomberg Pay for the leaders of Canada’s five largest banks rose an average of 28% as the lenders’ earnings increased and shares gained. Total direct compensation for the chief executive officers climbed to a combined C$65.7 million ($51.2 million) for fiscal 2021, which ended Oct. 31. The bump for CEOs tops the 18% average increase in variable pay that ...

Bloomberg The odds of Russia making its foreign debt payments are diminishing as bond prices fall, recession in the nation looms and various payment restrictions pile up after the invasion of Ukraine, according to Morgan Stanley & Co. “We see a default as the most likely scenario,” Simon Waever, the firm’s global head of emerging-market sovereign credit strategy, wrote in ...