Banking

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) spent 110 billion francs ($118 billion) on interventions in 2020, evidence of heightened market activism that risks fueling more tension with the US. The tally is the highest since 2012 and indicates officials purchased currency worth 9 billion francs in the fourth quarter, when the US Treasury branded Switzerland a currency manipulator. Such eye-watering ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc reopens its main Hong Kong office on Monday, after being closed last week in the wake of three people testing positive for coronavirus (Covid-19). “Precautionary measures — such as wearing masks, pre-entry temperature screening, hand sanitisers, spaced queuing and portable acrylic screens at open banking counters — will continue to be in place,” according to a ...

Bloomberg The European Union’s top banking regulator urged lenders to promptly write off loans that are failing in the aftermath of the pandemic, warning that without action “zombie” firms could damage the economic recovery. Jose Manuel Campa, chairman of the Paris-based European Banking Authority, said in an interview on March 19 that regulators expect non-performing loans to “increase to a ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG plans to triple its headcount in China over the next three years, ramping up its ambitions to gain market share as the nation’s financial market opens. “We are planning to more than triple our presence in term of headcount in China over the next 3 years and look forward to strengthening our position,” Chief Executive ...

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 ...