Bloomberg India’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged at a record low to support the economy, even as a split appeared among policy makers on continuing with the lower-for-longer stance. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) six-member Monetary Policy Committee retained its main repurchase rate at 4%, as predicted by all 29 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Policy makers voted ...
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ING signals bumper payouts as profit surpasses expectations
Bloomberg ING Groep NV beat expectations for second-quarter profit after releasing money set aside for doubtful loans, and said it will boost payouts for investors. The Dutch lender’s net income soared to 1.46 billion euros ($1.73 billion) in the three months through June from 299 million euros a year earlier. That compared to the 1.15-billion-euro average estimate of analysts surveyed ...
Read More »Credit Agricole profit beats estimates as provisions decline
Bloomberg Credit Agricole SA’s profit came in above expectations as it joined European peers in posting lower provisions to reflect the improving economy. The Paris-based lender said net income jumped to 1.97 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in the second quarter, more than double the same period last year and above the 1.2 billion euros anticipated by analysts polled by Bloomberg. ...
Read More »KakaoBank soars over 70% in Korean online lender’s debut
Bloomberg KakaoBank Corp, South Korea’s first internet-only lender to go public, surged more than 70% in its trading debut in Seoul to become the country’s largest retail lender by market value. The stock’s jump of as much as 74% gave the company, which doesn’t have brick-and-mortar branches, a market capitalisation of more than 32 trillion won ($28 billion), bigger than ...
Read More »Singapore banks’ increase dividends on profit outlook
Bloomberg Singapore banks will reward investors with higher payouts from better-than-expected earnings, just a week after the central bank lifted restrictions on dividends, marking a nascent recovery from one of their most turbulent years. All of the city state’s top banks — DBS Group Holdings, United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking — said they would increase dividends by an average ...
Read More »BOE takes step towards raising rates as inflation seen spiking
Bloomberg The Bank of England signalled that its concerns over inflation are strong enough to warrant the withdrawal of some support to the UK economy over the next three years. Policy makers led by Governor Andrew Bailey said they now expect annual price growth to peak higher than expected around 4%. While most of the increase may prove temporary, meeting ...
Read More »Commerzbank’s growth plans hit by long series of one-offs
Bloomberg Commerzbank AG saw earnings last quarter hit by a long series of one-time charges, undermining an otherwise solid performance and complicating efforts by Chief Executive Officer Manfred Knof to grow the lender. The shares fell after Commerzbank reported 18% lower revenue and a net loss of 527 million euros, both worse than estimated. However, it reiterated a forecast for ...
Read More »MUFG employees to set ‘personal rhythms’ with hybrid work model
Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc’s new hybrid work model in its EMEA region gives its staff plenty of say over how they will return to the office. The Japanese lender said it will leave it up to employees and their managers to “establish their own personal rhythms of home and office work,†according to a statement. It will continue ...
Read More »Top Singapore banks’ profit beats estimates
Bloomberg Two of Singapore’s largest lenders will increase dividend payouts after profit in the second quarter beat forecasts driven by lower provisions for bad loans. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, the city state’s second biggest bank, will pay an interim dividend of 25 cents per share after reporting a 59% jump in net income to S$1.16 billion ($859 million), just ahead of ...
Read More »Banks from HSBC to Citi shrug off China risks, embrace HK
Bloomberg Growing geopolitical tensions and pulled initial public offerings have done little to damp the appetite of Western banks for Hong Kong and China. Standard Chartered Plc Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters was the latest executive in recent weeks to signal a sweeping Chinese government crackdown and rising geopolitical tensions between China and the US won’t derail his lender’s focus ...
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