Banking

Bloomberg The Bank of Thailand kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a fifth straight meeting to preserve its limited policy space, while reiterating concerns about a currency rally and lowering its economic growth forecast for next year. The central bank held the policy rate at 0.5% in a unanimous decision, after cutting by a total of 75 basis points ...

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. is planning to increase the bonus pool for its fixed-income traders, who are set to post their best performance in more than a decade. The overall bonus pool for traders who deal in fixed income, currencies and commodities is likely to increase at least 10 percent, while the pool for equities traders will probably be left unchanged, ...

Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.’s next banking unit chief vowed to target business in Asia, while signaling the potential for cutbacks in developed markets as plunging interest rates dent profitability. “In Asia, we will pursue growth,” Junichi Hanzawa, 55, told reporters after being appointed president of MUFG Bank Ltd. “In Europe and the US, where interest rates are very ...

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve, showing confidence in how banks are weathering the pandemic, gave industry leaders a green light to resume billions of dollars in stock buybacks. Lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said they’ll take the Fed up on its offer. The loosening of restrictions marks a partial but significant win for firms that ...

Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank needs more time to confirm if inflation is slowing toward target before resuming a monetary easing cycle, Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon said after the institution left the key interest rate unchanged. Policy makers want to see if deep shopping discounts akin to Black Friday during November in Latin America’s second-largest economy will subside or persist, ...

Bloomberg Optimistic about a return to economic growth, fund managers have been slashing their cash positions and embracing risk assets to an extent that’s raising red flags for strategists at Bank of America Corp. (BofA). Money managers overseeing $534 billion in total are underweight cash for the first time since May 2013, with levels down to 4%, according to a ...

Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Lee Raymond, the company’s longest-serving director, is resigning from the board. Raymond, the former Exxon Mobil Corp. boss who’s been on the board of the biggest US bank for more than three decades, notified JPMorgan of his intention to resign effective December 31, according to a regulatory filing. The decision was “not the result ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Russia warned growing risks of higher inflation may leave no room for further monetary easing after it kept the key rate unchanged at a third consecutive policy meeting. The key rate was kept at 4.25%, the lowest level on record, after 200 basis points of cuts earlier this year. The central bank left the door open ...

Bloomberg The creation of a European banking champion could be among a slew of transformative deals in the sector next year, according to top financial dealmakers at Bank of America Corp. The region’s banking industry is suddenly abuzz with transactions, driving merger and acquisition volumes up 27% year-on-year to $37 billion since the start of July, data compiled by Bloomberg ...

Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc is canceling bonuses for all staff this year as the Covid-19 pandemic weighs heavily on its earnings. A spokesperson for the bank confirmed it will not pay out any “group performance share” awards in 2020 after rewarding staff with about 310 million pounds ($419 million) last year. The news was reported earlier by the Financial ...