Banking

  Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank unexpectedly accelerated the pace of interest rate increases, a hawkish move that seeks to contain quickly-deteriorating inflation expectations. Policy makers led by outgoing central bank Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon raised the benchmark rate by a half-point to 5.5%, their most aggressive hike since February 2017. They surprised all but eight of 25 economists surveyed ...

  Bloomberg China’s central bank pledged greater support for the real economy, and said that it will make monetary policy more forward-looking and targeted. There will be more “proactive” use of monetary policy tools, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement. It added that there will be “good use” of the monetary policy tools’ quantitative and structural ...

  Bloomberg Morgan Stanley told employees who have to be in the office through the first two weeks of January to wear face coverings when not at their desks and limit large in-person meetings. “This guidance applies to all locations (even those where everyone is fully vaccinated),” the New York-based bank said in a memo to staffers this week. “Masking ...

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc has said it will buy the investment management unit of India’s L&T Finance Holdings Ltd, the latest push to build up the Asian wealth and investment business that is at the forefront of the bank’s turnaround plans. The London-headquartered lender said it had agreed terms to acquire L&T Investment Management, which had looked destined to ...

  Bloomberg UBS Group AG appealed a court verdict that it helped wealthy French clients stash undeclared funds in Swiss accounts, prolonging a period of legal uncertainty in seven-year old case. The Zurich-based bank filed an appeal with the French Supreme Court regarding the ruling, according to a statement. It had five days from the judgement last week to make ...

  Bloomberg Kenya’s shilling has depreciated 3.5% to dollar this year after a seven-month losing streak, adding to a 7.8% loss last year. The currency of East Africa’s largest economy reached its weakest closing level of 113.09 per dollar and was trading little changed in Nairobi. The biggest monthly decline was in August when it weakened 1.3%, while July-September was ...

  Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc is preparing to launch a fund that provides debt financing to Asian start-ups in an effort to win investment-banking business through subsequent initial public offerings. Japan’s largest lender will start a $300 million fund early next year after upsizing its first joint-venture fund earlier this year, Chief Executive Officer Hironori Kamezawa said in ...

  Bloomberg Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a 13th straight meeting to assess how much risk the omicron variant poses to a fragile economic recovery. The Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) rate setting committee voted unanimously to hold the one-day bond repurchase rate at a record-low 0.5%, as predicted by all 20 economists in a Bloomberg ...

  Bloomberg ING Groep NV will take an unspecified fourth-quarter charge to exit French retail banking, its latest move to pull out of non-core European markets. The Amsterdam-based lender has reached a deal with local unions on a social plan for 460 employees, according to a statement. The bank, which is waiting for approval of its plan by the French ...

  Bloomberg Union Bank of the Philippines will buy Citigroup Inc’s consumer banking assets in the Southeast Asian country for a cash consideration plus a premium of 45.3 billion pesos ($904 million). The deal covers the US firm’s local credit card, unsecured lending, deposit and investment businesses as well as Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines Inc, Citigroup and ...