Banking

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) spent 90 billion francs ($98 billion) on interventions in the first half of 2020, the most in years, amid a market rout in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. The SNB was forced to step up its battle against the strong franc as investors drove the haven currency to the strongest level in ...

Bloomberg Taiwanese banks’ contributions to offshore loans for mainland Chinese firms fell to their lowest levels in at least 10 years as lenders turn increasingly anxious to limit their credit exposure to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and rising political tensions. The share of Taiwanese financial institutions in China’s offshore syndicated and club loans tumbled to the lowest ...

Bloomberg While most global banks say they’re gearing up for a shift from Libor, concerns persist about lawsuits if borrowers reach a cliff-edge scenario, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Banks’ clients are lagging in their effort to prepare for Libor’s exit and this could come back to haunt lenders, Vice President Olivier Panis said in an interview. Financial institutions risk ...

Bloomberg Gold buying by central banks, an important driver of bullion’s advance in recent years, is forecast to pick up in 2021 after a slowdown this year. Citigroup Inc. sees demand from the official sector rising to about 450 tons after a drop to 375 tons this year, which would be the lowest in a decade. HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. ...

Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said it’s worth examining a Federal Reserve-style strategy that allows for inflation to temporarily rise above the institution’s target. A policy under of committing to make up for low inflation after missing the goal for a while “could be examined,” as part of the institution’s strategic review, Lagarde said at a conference ...

Bloomberg The Philippine central bank said it will ban from the industry former bank employees who allegedly falsified documents for German payments company Wirecard AG. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is adding the former bankers to a list of persons disqualified from becoming directors or officers at any supervised financial institution, it said in an email. Wirecard filed for bankruptcy in ...

Bloomberg The bank at the center of Europe’s worst ever money laundering scandal has yet to fully address the corporate culture issues that led it astray in the first place. That’s according to the watchdog that oversees Danske Bank. Denmark’s biggest bank spent years locked in a top-down hierarchy that left its management cut off from people further down the ...

Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India rescheduled this week’s interest-rate meeting over the possible lack of a quorum in the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). “The dates of the MPC’s meeting will be announced shortly,” the RBI said in a statement on Monday, without giving reasons for the delay. The meeting was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with the rate decision ...

Bloomberg Australia will make it easier for banks to approve mortgages and small-business loans to help the economy recover from its first recession in almost 30 years. Shares of the nation’s biggest lenders surged. As part of a sweeping overhaul of so-called responsible lending obligations, the government will allow banks to rely on income and spending information provided by borrowers ...

Bloomberg Commerzbank passed over internal front-runners in favour of an executive with a reputation for tough cuts at its biggest rival to push through one of the largest restructuring programs in its history. Manfred Knof, 55, head of German retail banking at Deutsche Bank AG, takes over from Martin Zielke as Commerzbank chief executive officer on January 1, according to ...