Banking

Bloomberg China’s central bank signaled it may reduce the reserve requirement ratio for banks to spur rural finance, a targeted move that would help cushion the economy as it slows. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it will use monetary policy tools including the reserve ratio, and relending and rediscounting measures for rural development, according to a statement. That ...

Bloomberg PT Bank Central Asia (BCA) will invest $200 million into its digital arm to fend off competition from tech giants Gojek and Sea Ltd that are expanding into one of world’s largest unbanked markets. The Southeast Asian nation’s biggest lender by market value will use the funds to help Blu, its one-month old digital unit, to increase market share ...

Bloomberg Japan’s economic recovery will be delayed more than previously expected as the delta variant pushes up infections to record levels, according to a Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member. “The current spread of infections is more than expected at the time of the July policy meeting,” Toyoaki Nakamura, one of nine members on the board, told reporters in Tokyo. ...

Bloomberg South Korea became the first major Asian economy to raise interest rates, with more hikes in the pipeline as its central bank indicated that financial risks pose a bigger threat to the economy than the latest virus outbreak. Governor Lee Ju-yeol said the quarter-percentage-point hike to 0.75% still left rates in an accommodative position that supports the economy. He ...

Bloomberg Barclays Plc acquired a $3.8 billion portfolio of credit cards from retailer Gap Inc., giving it a new route to American consumers. The British bank will issue co-branded and private label credit cards in the US to Gap customers from the second quarter next year, Barclays said in a statement. While Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley has made the ...

Bloomberg BlackRock Inc is gearing up for the first test of Chinese investor appetite for its own mutual fund products, more than 15 years after entering the world’s most promising wealth market. The company’s new China unit is launching its debut product on August 30, just two months after winning regulatory approval to become the nation’s first wholly foreign-owned mutual ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank chief vowed to stabilise the supply of credit and boost the amount of money supporting smaller businesses and the real economy, after both credit and economic growth slowed in July. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will keep monetary policy stable with a good cross-cyclical design and will support high-quality economic expansion with “appropriate money growth,” ...

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc is facing a lawsuit for pulling support from a European credit fund as the Covid-19 pandemic roiled the markets, then giving its own traders a potential profit at the fund’s expense. The New York-based bank was sued by Ver Capital Partners in London for forcing the fund to default on a 224 million-euro ($263 million) loan in ...

Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank decided not to raise interest rates last week because of communication challenges, not economic risks, Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby said. It would have been difficult to explain an increase in the official cash rate on the same day the country entered a lockdown to combat a Covid-19 outbreak, Hawkesby told Bloomberg in a telephone interview ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc is boosting the pay of junior staff in its sales, trading, research and asset management divisions as the wave of pay rises spreads beyond investment banking, according to Financial News. Goldman Sachs will pay starting salaries of $110,000 in these units, up from $85,000, while second years will receive $125,000, Financial News reported, citing people ...