Banking

Bloomberg Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol said interest rates are still accommodative after two hikes since August, suggesting further tightening is in the pipeline as inflation risks mount in the recovering economy. The board considered the price pressures building in the economy and financial imbalances when it decided to raise rates by 25 basis points to 1%, Lee ...

Bloomberg The explosive growth in sustainability-linked loans has exposed a number of shortcomings that need to be resolved in order to avoid greenwashing, according to the global head of sustainable finance at Danske Bank. As things stand now, there are “clear risks,” Samu Slotte, who’s based in Danske’s Helsinki office, said in an interview. “There is room for improvement.” Among ...

Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank will be closely watching inflation expectations to determine whether it needs to raise interest rates at a faster pace, Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby said. “Inflation expectations are going to be absolutely key for us,” Hawkesby said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Wellington. “There are things that could make us go faster, and I ...

Bloomberg Morgan Stanley is offering to reimburse its Hong Kong employees as much as HK$40,000 ($5,100) to compensate for quarantine costs brought on by the financial hub’s zero-Covid strategy. The one-time reimbursement will be available to all Hong Kong permanent employees when they return from a personal trip to visit immediate family members, including spouses, domestic partners, children, parents and ...

Bloomberg US banks, which have been combining at levels not seen since before the global financial crisis, are now facing the near-term hurdles of stalled approvals and the mounting opposition from Democrats in Washington. All of that is unlikely to keep the string of deals from ultimately continuing, according to analysts. Regional lenders “may tap the brakes” in their merger-and-acquisition ...

Bloomberg The Czech central bank expects only a limited economic fallout from the worsening pandemic and remains prepared for more interest-rate increases to curb surging inflation, according to one of its vice governors. The country “has learned to live with Covid” and potential lockdown measures are unlikely to significantly hurt consumption and investments, Marek Mora said in a video posted ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s central bank said it will consider supervisory actions after DBS Group Holdings Ltd. suffered one of the worst digital disruptions for Southeast Asia’s biggest lender in the past decade. “This is a serious disruption and MAS expects DBS to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the root causes and implement the necessary remedial measures,” Marcus Lim, assistant managing ...

Bloomberg The Riksbank expects to start hiking interest rates in 2024, the first sign from the Swedish central bank that it sees an end in sight to its ultra-loose monetary policy. While policy makers kept their benchmark unchanged, they also signalled for the first time that they see a case to move higher within three years. Previously they said the ...

Bloomberg Zambia’s central bank in a surprise move raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year to try contain inflation that’s still nearly triple the targeted rate. The monetary policy committee lifted the gauge to 9% from 8.5%, Governor Denny Kalyalya told reporters. It was Kalyalya’s first rate decision since being reappointed to the post in September. ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) strategists are bearish on markets next year and urged investors to focus on preserving cash as faster inflation and higher interest rates upend the trajectory of global asset prices. In a note to clients, strategists led by Michael Hartnett listed macro trade recommendations, including long positions on volatility gauges, oil, energy, the US dollar, ...