Bloomberg The US central bank said it will disclose information regarding borrowers who seek emergency aid through its forthcoming corporate credit facilities. “The Federal Reserve will publicly disclose information regarding the CCFs during the operation of the facilities, including information regarding participants, transaction amounts, costs, revenues and other fees,†according to a frequently-asked-questions page posted Friday on the New York ...
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Wells Fargo adds top lobbyist to help revive image in DC
Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. has hired a new head lobbyist in Washington, as the bank works to restore its standing after a series of consumer-abuse scandals that have tarnished its brand and infuriated lawmakers. Brian Smith, 52, will join Wells next month, according to a memo sent out by William Daley, the bank’s vice chairman of public affairs. Smith, ...
Read More »BofA joins rivals in setting aside billions for loan losses
Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. (BofA) followed two big rivals in setting aside billions of dollars for loans likely to sour amid an almost total US economic shutdown. Profit plunged 45% as the company allocated $4.76 billion for loan losses, the most since 2010, as businesses and households reel from the coronavirus pandemic. The bank joins competitors JPMorgan Chase & ...
Read More »Default risk for Indian banks declines from six-year high
Bloomberg Default risks for India’s banks have declined from six-year highs on expectations that recent policy support will help the lenders avoid worse damage from the coronavirus pandemic. Average credit-default swaps on five Indian lenders, including State Bank of India, have dropped sharply since the Reserve Bank of India unleashed a 3.74 trillion rupee ($49 billion) stimulus package on March ...
Read More »RBA rate may no longer be floor for borrowing costs
Bloomberg A disappearing spread between money-market rates and expected policy equivalents indicates the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) official cash rate may no longer serve as the floor for borrowing costs. The three-month bank-bill swap rate — a gauge of Australian borrowing costs — has continued to slide, with its spread over a similar-tenor overnight index now poised to fall ...
Read More »Citi’s bond traders post their best quarter
Bloomberg Citigroup Inc.’s bond traders just posted their best quarter in eight years — a feat that was no match for the tidal wave of souring loans that walloped the bank’s profits. The deadly pandemic that sent global markets swooning helped the firm’s fixed-income, currencies and commodities traders generate $4.79 billion, trouncing analysts’ estimates by more than $1 billion. But ...
Read More »Swiss franc demand set to increase, UBS predicts
Bloomberg Investor demand for Switzerland’s currency, already trading at a five-year high, will increase as the country’s economy will outperform others during the recession, strategists at UBS Group AG predict. “Switzerland enters this recession with excellent credit quality, and its pandemic health situation is under control,†UBS strategists Thomas Flury and Gaetan Peroux wrote in a note to clients. “Hence ...
Read More »Yen primed for rise towards 100 as Fed stimulus saps dollar
Bloomberg The yen’s advance this week may be a sign of things to come, with strategists in Tokyo saying the currency could climb towards 100 against the dollar in the next few months. Citigroup Global Markets Japan Inc. says the yen stands to gain as the Federal Reserve’s massive monetary stimulus weighs on the greenback. MUFG Bank Ltd. sees the ...
Read More »PBOC to run simulations of digital currency use
Bloomberg China’s central bank has given the green light for some commercial lenders to run trials of its digital currency, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing it a step closer to becoming the world’s first major monetary authority to issue its own digital tender. State-owned Chinese banks are conducting internal, hypothetical-use tests of a People’s Bank of China ...
Read More »China adds liquidity, slashes rates ahead of poor GDP data
Bloomberg China’s central bank injected medium-term funding into the financial system on Wednesday and cut the cost of the funds as expected, bolstering measures aimed at countering the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The People’s Bank of China offered 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) via the one-year medium-term lending facility, cutting the rate to 2.95% from 3.15%. The reduction ...
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