Banking

BLOOMBERG Foreign central banks liquidated Treasury holdings at the fastest clip in nine years and tapped a key Federal Reserve (Fed) facility to raise cash as banking stress roils markets. Fed data show foreign official holdings of Treasury securities fell by $76 billion in the week through March 22 to $2.86 trillion. That’s the largest weekly decline since March 2014. ...

BLOOMBERG  The Philippine central bank slowed the pace of its interest-rate increases as it seeks to cool still-hot inflation while allowing itself some policy-manoeuvre room in the event of risks from a global banking turmoil. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised the overnight reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% on Thursday, as seen by all but one of ...

BLOOMBERG  Bank rescues on both sides of the Atlantic. Global markets in turmoil. American and European policy makers rushing to turn the tide. In contrast, China’s markets were calm and buoyant on Thursday. After countless scenarios of doom for Chinese assets, its markets stand out right now for their quiet gains. Following another day of turmoil in the US — ...

BLOOMBERG  Argentina sold around 417 billion pesos ($2 billion) in peso-denominated notes and bonds via auction, the latest step in managing a massive local debt pile as the government seeks to extend maturities until after presidential elections in October. The Treasury sold the securities after receiving offers for around 664 billion pesos, according to an emailed statement from the economy ...

BLOOMBERG  Taiwan’s central bank governor has a tough balancing act to pull off in his first interest rate decision since renewing his term in office. Governor Yang Chin-long must grapple with inflation that remains uncomfortably high, an economy that’s contracting, a still hawkish Federal Reserve, and global financial markets in turmoil. Most economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect he will lead ...

BLOOMBERG  Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jane Fraser said mobile apps and consumers’ ability to move millions of dollars with a few clicks of a button mark a sea change for how bankers manage and regulators respond to the risk of bank runs. Fraser said the fast demise of Silicon Valley Bank also made it difficult for banks to ...

BLOOMBERG Australian banks are “unquestionably strong” with solid capital and liquidity buffers, a senior Reserve Bank (RBA) official said, alleviating fears that stresses in the global financial system could hurt the nation’s big four lenders. “Volatility in Australian financial markets has picked up but markets are still functioning and, most importantly, Australian banks are unquestionably strong,” RBA Assistant Governor Chris ...

BLOOMBERG UBS Group AG had its credit outlook lowered by S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service as the bank faces integration and restructuring challenges following its emergency takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG. The Swiss lender’s rating outlook was cut to negative from stable by both firms, with analysts citing the risk of client attrition and the complex task ...

BLOOMBERG Bank of America Corp’s (BofA) Asia-Pacific prime financing head Graham Seaton has left the firm, according to people familiar, after more than 10 years overseeing teams dealing with hedge funds. Seaton, who was based in Hong Kong, left the bank early March, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. He resigned for personal ...

BLOOMBERG First Republic Bank shares rallied in US premarket trading after falling to a record low, as investors ponder what’s next for the struggling midsize lender following an offer of help from JPMorgan Chase & Co. The stock jumped as much 27% in US premarket trading, with fellow regional lenders including Western Alliance Bancorp and PacWest Bancorp also rising. The ...