Banking

Bloomberg Japan’s biggest bank is planning to plow about $9 billion into a new investment team that will look to buy credit, equities and alternative assets in a bid to lift investment returns. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc expects to begin buying the assets in the second half of this year that will likely focus on US securities, said the ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG cancelled a plan to back star trader Hamza Lemssouguer’s credit fund in a stunning about-face as it dials back risk after the implosion of Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital. The Swiss lender agreed with Lemssouguer that he should take his Arini European Credit fund outside the bank, according to an internal memo seen by ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG warned of a 300 million-euro ($365 million) hit after a German court allowed some clients to challenge higher fees, adding to headwinds for Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing as he enters the second half of his turnaround plan. Germany’s largest bank will book 100 million euros in provisions in the current quarter because of the ruling, ...

Bloomberg Bank of Montreal (BMO) picked Amazon.com Inc’s web-services division as its preferred cloud provider to help the bank modernize operations and introduce new digital applications. The deal includes using Amazon Web Services technology for the bank’s call centers and for remote-work tools for its employees, as well as employing the tech firm’s machine-learning capabilities, Seattle-based Amazon said. Financial terms ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is seen standing pat on its main policies at next week’s meeting, while tinkering on the margins of its toolkit by extending aid for pandemic-hit businesses as the country’s fight against the virus drags on. Some 89% of 44 economists surveyed by Bloomberg see the BOJ keeping in place its negative interest rate and ...

Bloomberg Japanese banks are in a bind — again. Sitting on record levels of excess cash, lenders are turning to riskier investments that need complex foreign exchange hedges, such as US Treasuries, to make a return on deposits that ballooned during the pandemic. Many will be seeking to avoid past mistakes. The surplus, calculated by subtracting bank loans from deposits, ...

Bloomberg Market watchers haven’t been this bullish on State Bank of India in almost two decades, as they bet on the lender’s improving asset quality to help it weather the pandemic. Among 48 analysts who cover the stock, 47 recommend buy and only one has a hold rating — a ratio of 98% that’s the highest since June 2004, according ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong has started a project to explore issuing a digital currency that is anticipated to last over the next 12 months. “This is essentially a research study similar to what is being undertaken by many other jurisdictions,” the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Tuesday. It remains open minded and hopes to offer “initial thoughts” in 12 months, ...

Bloomberg Some investors are cheering the Bank of Japan’s withdrawal from the stock market, even as they brace for more volatility. Japan’s central bank (BOJ) didn’t buy any exchange-traded funds for an entire month of May, the first time since Governor Haruhiko Kuroda kicked off his easing campaign in 2013. That’s prompting some in the market to believe the BOJ ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) started a major new stress test of the country’s biggest banks and insurers to judge how resilient they are to climate change. The assessment, delayed last year because of the pandemic, requires HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays Plc and other lenders to scrutinise the impact of global warming on everything from real estate to corporate ...