Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc is speeding up the shakeup of its global business after warning that the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic may trigger loan losses of as much as $13 billion this year. The Asia-focused lender missed estimates after reporting first-half profit that halved to $5.6 billion because of higher credit provisions. The bank said it is looking ...
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Bank of England to keep backing stimulus even as splits widen
Bloomberg Bank of England (BOE) policy makers are set to keep delivering ultra-loose monetary policy even as they disagree over the pace of economic recovery from coronavirus-triggered recession. While officials led by Governor Andrew Bailey have different takes on how the economy is emerging from the pandemic shock, the next policy decision on Thursday is expected to leave interest rates ...
Read More »Goldman, BofA left off Ant IPO for work with Alibaba rivals
Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. (BofA) were left off Ant Group’s upcoming stock sale in Hong Kong because of their past work with rivals of its affiliate Alibaba. Bankers have been told by senior executives at Alibaba Group Holding, which owns a third of Ant, that they should refrain from doing deals for its competitors if ...
Read More »SocGen extends losing streak with $1.5bn loss
Bloomberg Societe Generale SA swung to a surprise $1.5 billion loss because of charges at its trading unit, extending a losing streak that’s set to increase pressure on Chief Executive Officer Frederic Oudea. The French lender posted almost 1.33 billion euros in one-off costs following a review of the global markets and investor services business, including a 684 million-euro writedown. ...
Read More »Australia central bank to hold as virus crisis spirals
Bloomberg Australia’s central bank staff will be working around the clock to factor in the latest data from Victoria state’s spiralling Covid crisis into economic projections ahead of Tuesday’s policy meeting and Friday’s forecasts publication. Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe is set to keep interest rates and the three-year yield target unchanged at 0.25%, most economists say, and reiterate a ...
Read More »Bandhan Bank holder seeks $1.4bn in stock sale
Bloomberg Bandhan Bank Ltd.’s main shareholder sold $1.4 billion of its stake in India’s most profitable bank to meet the regulator’s ownership rules. Bandhan Financial Holdings Ltd. sold 337.4 million shares in the Indian lender at 313.1 rupees in a block trade on Monday, according to deal teams seen by Bloomberg News. The company’s shares plunged 11% to 307 rupees ...
Read More »Squeezed by superpowers, HSBC eyes next step of reboot
Bloomberg Caught in the crossfire between Washington and Beijing, HSBC Holdings Plc is fighting forces that threaten to upend a business built on connecting China to the West. Chairman Mark Tucker is overseeing a sweeping review of HSBC’s US and European operations with an eye towards unloading businesses beyond repair, as doubts grow that 35,000 job cuts announced in February ...
Read More »Review clears AfDB’s chief of favouritism
Bloomberg An independent panel backed an African Development Bank (AfDB) probe that found no evidence of wrongdoing by its president, Akinwumi Adesina. The finding enables Adesina, 60, to seek re-election next month as head of the continent’s biggest multilateral lender for another five years. It’s also a rebuff to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, whose rejection of the AfDB ethics ...
Read More »Credit Suisse expects windfall on $100 million Ant investment
Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG invested nearly $100 million in Ant Group during its last funding round, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the Swiss bank up for a potential windfall as the Chinese internet giant prepares to go public. The Zurich-based lender, a frequent adviser on deals across Jack Ma’s empire, made the equity investment during Ant’s ...
Read More »RBC inks solar power deal
Bloomberg Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) will buy solar power from BluEarth Renewables Inc. under a renewable-energy contract that’s a first of its kind for a Canadian financial firm. Canada’s largest bank and partner Bullfrog Power, a unit of Spark Power Group Inc., will each purchase 31,500 megawatt-hours a year — enough electricity for almost 2,600 homes — in an ...
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