Banking

Bloomberg Bank of International Settlements’ General Manager Agustin Carstens doesn’t consider the Swiss National Bank (SNB) to be a currency manipulator, according to an interview with Neue Zuercher Zeitung. Carstens told the Swiss newspaper the SNB is merely responding to loose monetary policy worldwide and using the purchases as a defensive measure in light of the large global demand for ...

Bloomberg The new coronavirus may remain infectious for weeks on banknotes, glass and other common surfaces, according to research by Australia’s top biosecurity laboratory that highlights risks from paper currency, touchscreen devices and grab handles and rails. Scientists at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness showed Sars-CoV-2 is “extremely robust,” surviving for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as glass ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted the size of a new credit fund to $14 billion in what is shaping up to be one of the largest debut investment vehicles ever raised. The bank, which set out with a target of $5 billion to $10 billion, is now expecting to finish fundraising with a $14 billion war chest to pour ...

Bloomberg Argentina’s central bank is taking steps to tighten its monetary policy and encourage banks to buy local peso assets. To do so, it raised a repo rate used by banks by 3 percentage points to 27%, and lowered its benchmark Leliq rate by 1 percentage point to 37%, according to a statement. The rates had diverged at the start ...

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc will aim to reach a net-zero carbon client portfolio by 2050 in a step to align its business activities to the goals of the Paris climate agreement. The London-based bank, which has previously come under fire for financing harmful environmental activity, also pledged to provide as much as $1 trillion over the next decade to assist ...

Bloomberg The Chinese onshore yuan notched up its biggest rally in more than 13 years as the central bank allowed optimism over a “blue wave” in the US election to push the currency higher. Analysts are predicting more gains ahead. The onshore yuan advanced 1.58% in the first trading session of October after a national holiday, while its offshore counterpart ...

Bloomberg India’s central bank and the federal government have urged the nation’s Supreme Court to reject pleas by borrowers to extend a loan repayment holiday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government filed their written views following an order by the court, saying the measures announced so far to increase liquidity and lower borrowing costs are having a ...

Bloomberg China will maintain “normal” monetary policy for as long as possible, according to the People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang. Policy makers plan to encourage a “reasonable” increase in household savings and incomes, Yi wrote in an article published on Saturday in the central bank’s biweekly magazine China Finance. The country will also make sure its liquidity stays ...

Bloomberg Singapore banks will extend debt relief for individuals and small-to-midsized businesses beyond the end of the year to support borrowers hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The measures, set to expire on December 31, will now progressively end over 2021, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a statement. The extended program will be tiered so those businesses ...

Bloomberg India’s third-largest private lender is joining its larger rivals in offering pay hikes to staff even as the economic fall out of the coronavirus pandemic threatens profit growth. Axis Bank Ltd. will increase staff salaries between 4% and 12% based on performance, according to people with knowledge of the plans. The Mumbai-based lender, which has about 76,000 employees, also ...