Banking

Rescuers sought for shadow bank Altico as crisis deepens

Bloomberg Lenders to an Indian shadow bank at the center of an industry crisis since it started defaulting three months ago have called for binding bids from potential rescuers by mid-January, people familiar with the matter said. Altico Capital India Ltd. is one of the latest caught up in the nation’s shadow banking crisis, which has deepened as lenders already ...

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‘ECB should review causes of inflation’

Bloomberg ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot said conventional wisdom about inflation is outdated. The European Central Bank has to investigate “thoroughly” which factors nowadays determine output prices, rather than double down on its stimulus measures, the Dutch central bank president said in an interview with De Volkskrant. While wages are rising, the costs for business “are not translating into ...

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Thai baht, Asia’s best-performing currency, faces reversal

Bloomberg The Thai baht’s heady gains are petering out, thanks to slowing growth and a central bank that’s bent on taming the currency’s strength. After clocking an 8% rise this year, Asia’s best-performing currency is losing momentum as easing US-China trade tensions damp its appeal as a haven. Falling yields on local bonds and equity outflows are adding to the ...

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RBI experiments with policy to ease India’s interest rates

Bloomberg From a 35-basis point interest rate cut to embracing a Federal Reserve-style ‘Operation Twist’, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das is pushing the boundaries of conventional central bank policy making to improve rate transmission and spur credit to the economy. The central bank announced it will buy longer-dated debt and simultaneously sell shorter maturity notes in a ...

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Indian banks may ask customers, depositors to list their religion

Bloomberg Indian banks may ask depositors and customers to list their religion, The Times of India reported. The information may be required after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made changes to a banking law that allows selected non-residents to open bank accounts and own property, the report said. Amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations will let immigrant Hindus, ...

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UK extends economy’s male millennium

Bloomberg Just weeks after Christine Lagarde became the euro zone’s first female central bank chief, neighbouring Britain has chosen to stick with what it’s only ever known for economic policy: men in charge. This month’s decision to install Andrew Bailey as Bank of England (BOE) governor, along with Sajid Javid’s reappointment as chancellor of the exchequer, extend an exclusively male ...

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West Africa set to reform CFA franc, keep euro peg

Bloomberg The West African Economic and Monetary Union has agreed with France to a number of changes to the CFA franc currency, including a new name, Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara said, as the West African bloc inches closer to a split from the French-backed currency. The monetary union will keep its euro peg while moving its currency reserve from ...

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HSBC and JPMorgan traders accessed BOE audio feed

Bloomberg Traders at HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co are among those who accessed a high-speed audio feed of Bank of England press conferences, according to the Financial Times, which cited an unidentified person. HSBC and JPMorgan declined to comment to Bloomberg News. Investment banks across the City are trying to establish whether their traders used the feed, ...

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Ex-HSBC North America executive sued for fraud

Bloomberg The former head of HSBC Holdings Plc’s North American interest rates business was sued for fraud by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Christophe Rivoire helped manipulate the price of an interest rate swap between the bank and a bond issuer, the CFTC said in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court. The agency claimed the issuer had ...

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Leveraged-loan stress could ripple through economy: BofA CEO

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp, which tops the league table for US leveraged-loan issuance, is watching that market closely for signs of stress. “The real concern is: Is there too much leverage in the system in certain companies, and if they have trouble, will that impact the economy?” Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “We ...

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