Banking

Bloomberg Westpac Banking Corp. deferred its dividend after soaring bad-debt provisions and a potential record anti-money laundering fine sent first-half earnings plummeting to the lowest in almost two decades. Cash earnings fell 70% to $636 million in the six months ended March 31, Sydney-based Westpac said on Monday, its smallest profit since 2002. The bank is also considering selling smaller ...

Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc has begun to count the cost of the coronavirus pandemic to the British economy — and warned that the turmoil had made its old targets obsolete. Britain’s biggest mortgage lender booked a provision of 1.4 billion pounds ($1.75 billion) for possible soured loans as efforts to halt the spread of the virus crushed the economy. ...

Bloomberg Sweden’s central bank may need to have some of its age-old laws changed if it’s to act on a pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the economy. The Riksbank’s 352-year history gives it the distinction of being the world’s oldest central bank. But the legislation governing it has yet to catch up with the kind of policy ...

Bloomberg Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA took a combined hit of 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) for virus-related provisions and a second consecutive charge at its US business to post its biggest-ever quarterly loss. BBVA, which is focused on emerging markets in Latin America and Turkey, reported a first-quarter net loss of 1.8 billion euros. The virus impact alone accounted ...

Bloomberg American Express Co., long synonymous with premium travel rewards, will now offer a meditation app and credits for streaming services as the coronavirus pandemic forces its customers to stay home. As the outbreak made its way to the US, the credit-card issuer realised that many of its rewards tied to spending on airlines and hotels were becoming less relevant, ...

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA posted a surprise first-quarter loss after income from its stock-trading unit was wiped out in the market volatility caused by the coronavirus and the bank set aside 820 million euros ($890 million) to cover bad loans. Revenue from equities trading and the business of servicing hedge funds slumped 99% to just 9 million euros in the ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. offered a glimpse into the March madness that propelled Wall Street trading desks to their best quarterly performance in almost a decade. The firm’s traders pulled in more than $100 million on 14 separate days during the first quarter, Goldman Sachs said in a regulatory filing. Volatile markets were a boon for the business, which ...

Bloomberg It’s increasingly becoming a question of when, not if, the European Central Bank (ECB) will pump up its emergency bond buying program to help the most vulnerable euro-area economies avoid a deeper recession. With countries relying on borrowing to finance their response to the coronavirus pandemic, the ECB will likely take on more of that bond supply, as private ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG warned revenue will probably decline this year as a trading boost that lifted Wall Street banks in the first quarter fades and the coronavirus pandemic ripples through the economy. The first quarter was flat from a year earlier as a 13% increase in fixed-income trading helped offset lower income in the corporate bank and asset management, ...

Bloomberg Standard Chartered put aside $956 million against potential losses as souring loans spike during coronavirus pandemic, even as a trading boom lifted first-quarter revenue. The emerging markets-focused lender reported the biggest provisions since 2015 as clients across Asia, Africa and the Middle East got into difficulty because of lockdowns and travel restrictions. That reflects similar warnings from other global ...