Banking

Bloomberg KCB group Plc, Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, is in talks to form digital payment partnerships to expand revenue streams, Chief Executive Officer Joshua Oigara said. “We have to go beyond lending,” Oigara said in an interview in the capital, Nairobi. KCB is looking for partnerships for its mobile wallet, he said. The Nairobi-based lender is seeking increased revenue ...

Bloomberg The US Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into Visa Inc.’s practices regarding debit-card transactions. The department is looking into the network’s rules for routing transactions both in stores and online. “The US Department of Justice has informed Visa of its plans to open an investigation into Visa’s US debit practices” and is cooperating with the department, ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. led US banks plowing billions of fresh cash into China last year, undeterred by political turmoil as the world’s second-largest economy further opens its $50 trillion financial market. The bank’s “cross currency outstandings” rose 33% to $17.5 billion last year in China, covering a broad array of cash and financing to companies and government entities, ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s main Hong Kong office was closed until further notice after three people working in the building tested positive for Covid-19 amid a renewed wave of infections among the city’s business and expatriate community. The Center for Health Protection has published a formal notice requiring visitors who stayed at the building for more than two hours between ...

Bloomberg DBS Group Holdings Ltd.’s private bank raised more than S$1.6 billion ($1.2 billion) from two in-house products, including a new one targeting sustainable investing. The Barbell Income Fund, which invests in stocks, bonds and cash, drew about S$970 million in less than six weeks after introduction, Southeast Asia’s largest bank said in an emailed release. The other product based ...

Bloomberg NatWest Group Plc faces landmark money laundering charges for failing to properly monitor a company’s account that received cash deposits totaling $365 million. The bank failed to conduct proper due diligence and oversight of the company’s account over a five-year period through 2016, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. The charges relate to NatWest’s relationship with Fowler Oldfield ...

Bloomberg Pakistan has hired banks for a possible foreign-currency bond offering. The government has mandated Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse group and Standard Chartered, the people said. The South Asian nation is looking to raise funds after reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on resumption of a $6 billion bailout program that was secured in ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s bankers are working around the clock as the region’s companies rush to go public. Initial public offerings (IPO) in the city have already hit almost $11 billion, a close to 500% jump from a year earlier, with video streaming platform Bilibili Inc. and search giant Baidu Inc. among companies preparing multi-billion dollar deals. Digital roadshows and clients ...

Bloomberg The Canadian dollar is outperforming all of its major peers this year, and several analysts see room for more gains as the economic recovery picks up, bolstering speculation about reduced stimulus. Data showing stronger-than-expected job growth in February provided the impetus for the loonie to climb to a three-year high, even as the US currency rises against the majority ...

Bloomberg A SPAC backed by Martin Blessing, Commerzbank AG’s former chief executive officer (CEO), plans to list in Amsterdam and target investments in financial services and technology companies. The special purpose acquisition company, EFIC1, will seek to raise as much as $496 million and seek out companies in Europe, including the UK, according to a statement on Monday, confirming an ...