Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is leaving economists divided over whether it needs to cut interest rates for a second month to boost a faltering economy. Sixteen of the 27 economists polled by Bloomberg forecast the central bank will keep the interest rate on its one-year policy loans unchanged on Tuesday, when it’s scheduled to conduct a ...
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Axis Bank set to buy Citigroup’s $2.5b retail unit in India
Bloomberg Axis Bank Ltd is nearing a deal to buy Citigroup Inc’s India retail banking business in a transaction that could be valued at about $2.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. An agreement for the consumer unit may be announced as soon as the next few weeks and is contingent on approval from the Reserve Bank of ...
Read More »BofA aims to offer card-free online purchases following investment
Bloomberg Bank of America (BofA) Corp has led a $20 million funding round into UK startup Banked Ltd, a tie up that will give customers of e-commerce companies in the UK the option to make card-free purchases. The US lender is teaming up with the fintech to offer a ‘Pay by Bank’ solution that will enable users to pay ...
Read More »DBS CEO cautions on Fed hikes after profit surge
Bloomberg DBS Group Holdings Ltd Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta said investors in Southeast Asia’s largest lender should be cautious about uncertainties stemming from Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and slowing Chinese growth. That tone followed the release of strong profit growth for the fourth quarter, wrapping up a year which he described as the bank’s best financial performance ...
Read More »SMBC mulls increasing stake in Rizal Bank
Bloomberg Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp is considering increasing its stake in Philippine lender Rizal Commercial Banking Corp as the Japanese firm seeks to expand its footprint across Southeast Asia, according to people familiar with the matter. Tokyo-based SMBC is working with financial advisers as it prepares to boost its roughly 5% stake in RCBC, the people said, asking not ...
Read More »HSBC to double some junior banker bonuses in race for talent
Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc plans to as much as double bonuses for some of its junior investment bankers and traders in a bid to catch up with rivals on compensation. The lender, which paid less than most rivals a year ago after cutting the bonus pool at its global banking and markets division by 15%, wants to avoid losing ...
Read More »BOE begins talks with debt office on sales of QE bonds
Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) has begun talks with the UK Debt Management Office and the Treasury over how to handle active sales of bonds held in its quantitative easing (QE) portfolio, according an official with knowledge of the matter. The discussions come as the central bank last week said it would begin running down its 875 billion ...
Read More »Hong Kong banks to halt operations at quarter of branches
Bloomberg Hong Kong’s banks will suspend operations at one in every four branches in the city after a number of employees were infected with Covid, the South China Morning Post has reported. HSBC Holdings Plc, Standard Chartered and Bank of China and another 13 major lenders will close a total of 276 branches. The closures started last week and ...
Read More »Starling seeks $3.4bn value in funding round
Bloomberg Starling Bank Ltd. is weighing plans for a fresh funding round that could value the UK challenger at around 2.5 billion pounds ($3.4 billion). The digital lender is considering raising money from its existing backers, which include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. London-based Starling is bidding ...
Read More »Spain’s Sabadell explores sale of payments business
Bloomberg Banco de Sabadell SA is exploring a sale of its payments business, according to people familiar with the matter. The Spanish banking group is working with an adviser on the potential disposal, which could fetch between 250 million euros and 350 million euros. The payments business handles the processing of transactions made with credit and debit cards. Any ...
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