Banking

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 …

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA gave an upbeat outlook for the year as the economic recovery allows it to set aside less for soured loans and a rebound in equities trading fueled earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. The Paris-based lender expects to set aside 10 basis points less — equal to about 500 million euros ($593 million) — for souring debt …

Bloomberg Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc is nearing a deal for Westpac Banking Corp’s life insurance unit that could value the business at about $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Dai-ichi Life is in exclusive talks with Australia’s second-largest bank and an announcement could come as soon as this month, the people said, asking not to be …

Bloomberg July was a brutal month for the Philippine peso and there appears to be little respite on the horizon. After capping its steepest monthly decline in over three years, the currency could extend losses due to a worsening virus outbreak and the risk of a sovereign rating downgrade. It may drop towards 51 per dollar, a level last reached …

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG are joining rivals in bumping pay for junior bankers, following uproar earlier in the year over the work-till-you-drop culture exposed by the pandemic. Goldman Sachs will now pay first-year analysts at least $110,000 up from $85,000, according to people familiar with the matter. Their second-year counterparts will get $125,000 up …

Bloomberg Banking Circle, a financial technology startup, is seeking to raise new funding at a valuation of around $5.9 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company, led by Anders la Cour and Laust Bertelsen, is working with advisers to solicit interest from investors for a roughly $500 million funding round, the people said, asking not to …

Bloomberg Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s bondholders are expected to be shielded from any losses in the event of a takeover by UniCredit SpA, according to people familiar with the matter. UniCredit and the Italian Treasury are looking at options to protect holders of Paschi debt from losses if the deal is finalised, including the possibility for Italy’s …

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG has lost a string of US-based wealth management executives over the past year, as Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing struggles to expand in the lucrative business of managing rich people’s money while keeping a lid on expenses. At least 10 senior bankers and numerous junior employees across the world’s largest wealth management market have left, according …

Bloomberg NatWest Group Plc is reversing more of the provisions it took early in the Covid-19 pandemic as the British economy rebounds, helping it beat earnings forecasts in the second quarter and return cash to shareholders. The UK’s biggest corporate lender posted an operating profit before tax of 1.6 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) in the second quarter, compared to a …

Bloomberg A day after UniCredit Spa announced talks to buy it, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA was the worst performer in European regulators’ stress tests and the only one to have a key measure of capital wiped out. That’s creating questions over the mechanics of a deal engineered by UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel and the Italian …