Banking

  Bloomberg HDFC Bank Ltd.’s profit rises in the third quarter, beating estimates, helped by loan growth and improved asset quality as consumer demand picked up. Net income stood at INR 103.4 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) rupees for the quarter ending December compared with 87.6 billion rupees a year ago. That beat the average estimate of 101.4 billion rupees by ...

  Bloomberg Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol signalled the likelihood of more interest rate increases to come following the hike, as the central bank clearly put inflation concerns ahead of uncertainties over Covid-19. Even though the key policy rate, now at 1.25%, is back at pre-pandemic levels, Lee said it was at an accommodative level, adding that another hike ...

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. agreed to sell consumer-banking businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) for about S$4.9 billion ($3.6 billion) as Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser continues her push to simplify the New York-based bank. UOB will pay Citigroup a cash consideration for the net assets of the acquired businesses plus a premium ...

  Bloomberg The UK government has sold 170.4 million shares in NatWest Group Plc — worth about $580 million at current prices — since November, continuing to cut the majority stake it acquired during the financial crisis. The Treasury now owns a 51.98% stake in the lender formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland, according to a filing. Its stake ...

  Bloomberg The top 1% at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is set to receive a special one-time reward in addition to annual bonuses, recognizing the Wall Street titan’s roaring success through the pandemic. The unusual payments to partners — the roughly 400 executives who fill out the investment bank’s highest rung — will add millions of dollars to many compensation ...

  Bloomberg Several of China’s largest banks have become more selective about funding real estate projects by local government financing vehicles, concerned that some are taking on too much risk after they replaced private developers as key buyers of land. At least five state-run banks have imposed new restrictions this year on loans to weaker local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) ...

  Bloomberg Visa Inc joined its rival Mastercard Inc. in offering central banks a way to test retail applications for digital currencies they might issue. The card payment provider will begin piloting a program this spring with ConsenSys Inc, a blockchain software company, after discussions with roughly 30 central banks about goals related to government-backed digital currencies. Governments across the ...

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and partner organisations said they successfully conducted the second stage of their experiment to process digital currencies within the country’s financial system. During a three-day test in December, five commercial banks — Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg AG and UBS Group AG — were able to ...

  Bloomberg Brazil’s central bank signalled inflation will end 2022 above target while saying a “significantly restrictive” cycle of interest rate hikes will help pull cost of living increases be low 5%. Inflation is converging to target over the relevant time horizon, which includes 2022 and 2023, bank chief Roberto Campos Neto wrote in a letter published on Tuesday. “In ...

  Bloomberg Coinbase Global Inc is acquiring futures exchange FairX in its biggest step yet towards expanding into crypto derivatives. Already registered with US regulators, the firm could give Coinbase the edge it needs in getting a derivatives marketplace up and running. Terms of the deal were not provided. “This is the most important stepping stone for us to help ...