Banking

Bloomberg South Korea’s won has regained some ground after a dismal third quarter and a coming interest-rate hike could give it another boost. The won could rise as high as 1,120 per dollar this quarter from around 1,182 now as the Bank of Korea (BOK) moves to normalise policy and uncertainties surrounding the Fed’s tapering eases, according to Kiwoom Securities ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) is planning to apply to set up a securities firm in China, playing catchup to rivals including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in an expansion into the $54 trillion financial market. The bank aims to apply for regulatory approval early next year. It plans to submit applications for licenses allowing ...

Bloomberg Bank of England (BOE) policy makers are heading into their meeting this week knowing that failure to deliver a once-unthinkable interest-rate hike would now raise serious questions over their credibility with markets. Investors are almost fully pricing in a 15-basis point increase in the benchmark lending rate on November 4, while economists increasingly share that view, even as they ...

Bloomberg Westpac Banking Corp shares dropped more than 5% in Sydney trading after delivering a smaller share buyback than many had expected and amid concern margins remain under pressure. The lender unveiled a record share buyback of up to A$3.5 billion ($2.6 billion), while cash earnings of A$5.35 billion fell short of analyst expectations of A$5.42 billion in the year ...

Bloomberg European lenders are boosting shareholder payouts a month after pandemic-related restrictions expired, with more than $5 billion in buybacks. Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA said it obtained regulatory approval to repurchase 3.5 billion euros ($4.1 billion) of shares. BNP Paribas SA will start repurchasing 900 million euros of stock next month. In total, the biggest banks in the ...

Bloomberg Nomura Holdings Inc shares fall after earnings plunged and Japan’s largest brokerage took a $341 million provision for an ongoing legal case. The stock declined 7.1% in Tokyo on Monday. The firm said it’s set aside 39 billion yen for the transaction in the US that dates back to before the global financial crisis, after reporting a 95% slide ...

Bloomberg UK high street banks start raising mortgage costs ahead of the Bank of England’s interest-rate decision next week amid signs of resurgent inflation. Barclays Plc is increasing a 2-year fixed rate by 0.35 percentage point, which follows similar moves by lenders including HSBC Holdings Plc, NatWest Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc. The increase in borrowing costs threatens a ...

Bloomberg NatWest Group Plc beat profit forecasts in the third quarter, yet shares in the British lender fell as analysts highlighted a squeeze on loan margins and the bumpy transformation of its markets unit. The UK’s biggest corporate lender said operating profit before tax rises to $1.5 billion, almost double analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. While demand for home loans ...

Bloomberg Barclays Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley is stepping down amid a UK regulatory probe into how he characterised his ties to the financier Jeffrey Epstein. Staley, 64, is leaving, according to a statement. CS Venkatakrishnan, who was promoted last year to run the Barclays markets division and was previously chief risk officer, will replace him as CEO. The bank ...

Bloomberg China is pushing almost a trillion yuan ($156 billion) of funds into the banking system in just two weeks, reinforcing a signal that it will use short-term liquidity to sustain growth rather than ease monetary policy. In a pattern seen also in September, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has been injecting huge amounts of cash through open-market operations ...