Banking

Bloomberg China’s economic performance improved in December for the first time in eight months, according to a group of earliest-available indicators compiled by Bloomberg. Production in the world’s second-largest economy accelerated as domestic demand stabilised, and market sentiment turned around on the prospect of a near-term trade deal with the US. The reading is the latest sign that Chinese economy ...

Bloomberg Fast Retailing Co Chief Executive Officer Tadashi Yanai is leaving SoftBank Group Corp’s board after more than 18 years as one of the few directors with the heft to challenge Masayoshi Son. Yanai, Japan’s richest man, will step down on December 31, according to a SoftBank statement. He is leaving the post to focus on running his own business, ...

Bloomberg Serbia will spend almost 14 billion euros ($15.7 billion) through 2025 as the government seeks to double the rate of economic growth, bringing it into line with the European Union and raising living standards. The new investments were announced as the Balkan nation heads for general elections in late April or early May, and President Aleksandar Vucic is eager ...

Bloomberg Equity capital markets bankers won’t be sad to close the door on a miserable 2019 in Europe. Though some of the elements that made for a volatile environment for initial public offerings are still in play, there is reason to hope 2020 will bring fairer weather. Trade tensions have eased after a deal between the US and China this ...

Bloomberg The new decade could be the dawn of a tougher era for bond investors, as conditions that sustained the historic bull run in government debt fall away. Unprecedented central bank action has dominated economic stimulus since the global crisis and suppressed yields around the world. The skew may now be shifting more towards fiscal expansion that could pressure rates ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank ordered lenders to adopt a new loan-pricing regime for all credit from next year, marking an end to the previous benchmark and another step towards liberalising the financial system. Financial institutions should stop using the old lending rate as the pricing reference for all credit from January, while gradually converting existing loans to a new base ...

Bloomberg President Ivan Duque named a University of Illinois-trained economist with policy-making experience to take a seat on the board of Colombia’s central bank. Arturo Jose Galindo was chief of the Inter-American Development Bank’s strategy development division. He previously worked as an economist at the Colombian central bank and as an adviser to the nation’s banking association. He will replace ...

Bloomberg The pound is set for a yearly gain against the dollar, but it may struggle to take off further in the first quarter of 2020. Sterling has recovered almost 10% since hitting an almost three-year low in September, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s snap election in December lifted political deadlock in Westminster. The re-elected government’s solid majority should help ...

Bloomberg India’s financial regulator predicted that an improvement in banks’ bad-loan ratios will reverse, as a slowing economy hurts borrowers’ ability to repay. In its latest Financial Stability Report, the Reserve Bank of India said soured debt at Indian lenders will rise to 9.9% of total credit by September 2020, after dropping the most in 15 years to 9.3% a ...

Bloomberg The biggest US banks, including bellwethers JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc, gained as a hearty US consumer continued to signal good news for lenders. BofA rose as much as 1% to the highest since October 2008 and Citi climbed as much as 1.5% to the highest since January 2018. Other top preformers included ...