Banking

Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said it will continue to review its bond-buying program based on economic conditions and the health situation as the nation faces lockdowns to combat the delta variant of coronavirus. “The board would be prepared to act in response to further bad news on the health front should that lead to a more significant ...

Bloomberg The National Bank of Ethiopia asked all commercial banks to temporarily suspend providing loans backed by collateral, such as land and buildings. The NBE’s directive follows findings that the money is being used on the black market, State Minister for Finance, Eyob Tekalign, said on Shefer FM radio. The security authorities and the central bank are taking action as ...

Bloomberg Nigeria’s state-owned Bank of Industry plans to raise as much as 750 million euros ($883 million) from international debt markets this year for lending to companies hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa’s largest economy. Financial advisers have been appointed for the issue, Chief Executive Officer Olukayode Pitan, said in a virtual interview without providing details. The lender will ...

Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) relaxed a rule on bank’s purchases of foreign sovereign bonds, paving the way for lenders to resume a profitable currency trade. In a notice sent to some banks, the RBI said foreign sovereign bonds wouldn’t fall under a regulatory cap that requires holdings of securities unlisted in India to be 10% or less of ...

Bloomberg The world’s largest underwriter of green bonds plans to significantly expand its offering of investment products touting environmental, social and governance metrics, as Wall Street starts attaching the label to more complex financial services. JPMorgan Chase & Co says its decision to add the ESG tag to derivatives is part of a strategy to link sustainability to all forms ...

Bloomberg Thailand’s central bank governor called for an additional 1 trillion baht ($30 billion) in government spending to counter coronavirus, saying the blow to the economy from the pandemic is greater than from the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The government can fund additional spending by borrowing more, Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said on Monday at a briefing ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank rolled over most of its medium-term policy loans coming due, a move to support economic growth amid a resurgence of Covid cases. Government bonds reversed earlier losses. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) injected 600 billion yuan ($92.6 billion) into the financial system through its medium-term lending facility, close to the 700 billion yuan maturing Tuesday. ...

Bloomberg New Zealand is set to raise interest rates this week, the first advanced economy in the Asia-Pacific to begin normalizing policy, as a powerful recovery unhindered by delta outbreaks shows signs of overheating. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) will lift the official cash rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.5% at its review Wednesday in Wellington, ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) is boosting base salaries for junior bankers, joining firms including Perella Weinberg Partners and Evercore Inc in lifting pay to lure young talent on Wall Street. At Bank of America, first-year analysts across the global corporate and investment banking, markets, and research divisions will receive $100,000, up from $95,000, according to a person with ...

Bloomberg Bank of England (BOE) policy makers are being overly-alarmist on their outlook for inflation, economists’ forecasts suggest, casting doubt on the need for a significant tightening in policy in the years ahead. While the central bank expects inflation to hit 4% this year and slightly exceed that level in early 2022, economists surveyed by Bloomberg only see it rising ...