Bloomberg A bad bank in India that’s expected to launch this month may help reduce one of the world’s worst bad-loan piles but market participants say it’s a long path ahead. The new institution, which is set to start operations by the end of June, is likely to handle stressed debt worth $27 billion over time, according to a BloombergQuint ...
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HSBC loses four bond bankers as China spats hurt dealmaking
Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc has lost about a third of its debt capital markets team covering Chinese state-owned enterprises, a sign the bank is still struggling to win back favor in Beijing three years after becoming embroiled in geopolitical spats between China and the West. The departures in recent weeks include two managing directors, John Hai and Jiang Song, who ...
Read More »New Zealand central bank may stop buying QE bonds
Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank may end its quantitative easing bond purchases in coming months as it prepares to raise interest rates, according to the Bank of New Zealand. Financial markets are now pricing a better than 50% chance that the Reserve Bank will increase its official cash rate in November, BNZ strategist Nick Smyth wrote in a note to ...
Read More »UBS to let two-thirds of staff adopt permanent hybrid work
Bloomberg UBS group will permanently allow as many as two-thirds of its employees to adopt a hybrid model of working from home and the office, according to a person familiar with the plans, as it seeks a competitive recruitment edge over some US banks taking a more hardline approach. The lender’s move is being led by CEO  Ralph Hamers. The ...
Read More »Korea’s Kakao Bank seeks $2.3bn in IPO
Bloomberg Kakao Bank, the internet-only lender backed by South Korea’s Kakao Corp, plans to raise as much as $2.3 billion in an initial public offering, joining a rush by the nation’s companies to sell shares. The bank is selling 65.45 million new shares at between 33,000 won and 39,000 won apiece, according to a filing. At the top end of ...
Read More »PBOC strikes positive tone as economy stabilises
Bloomberg China’s central bank struck a more positive tone in its quarterly monetary policy meeting, saying the economy is showing more stability and improvement even though domestic and global risks remain. The monetary policy committee of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) largely reiterated its stance to keep policy, liquidity and the exchange rate steady, according to a statement. It ...
Read More »China banks stockpile record $1 trillion of foreign exchange
Bloomberg Chinese banks’ stockpile of foreign-currency deposits has surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, creating an opportunity for Beijing to allow greater freedom for capital to flow out of the country. The pool has been growing as surging demand for Chinese goods during the pandemic has beefed up foreign earnings of exporters, while the resilient economy and strengthening currency ...
Read More »Citigroup joins rivals helping wealthy clients access crypto
Bloomberg Citigroup Inc is taking another step into the world of cryptocurrencies. The Wall Street giant will help its richest clients bet on crypto as part of a new digital assets group inside its burgeoning wealth management unit, according to a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg News. The new effort will be led by Alex Kriete and Greg Girasole. ...
Read More »Visa to buy open-banking platform Tink for $2bn
Bloomberg Visa Inc has agreed to buy Swedish open-banking platform Tink AB as the payment giant looks to expand beyond its card network. San Francisco-based Visa said it will pay a total of 1.8 billion euros ($2.15 billion) — including cash and retention incentives — to acquire the fintech firm, according to a statement. Banks and startups use Tink to ...
Read More »Korea to lead Asia’s rate-hike cycle as Lee flags 2021 move
Bloomberg The Bank of Korea (BOK) once again looks set to spearhead Asia’s first interest-rate hikes, after Governor Lee Ju-yeol said policy normalisation is in the pipeline this year, triggering a recalibration of market bets. As pandemic-era stimulus runs the risk of inflating asset bubbles and spurring more volatility in capital flows across the region, several central banks have stressed ...
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