Banking

ECB’s official gets court hearing for taking bribe

Bloomberg Almost two years after Latvia’s central-bank governor was detained in a bribery probe, he’s getting the chance to prove his innocence in the courtroom. Ilmars Rimsevics, who also sits on the European Central Bank’s policy-setting panel, is attending his first hearing. He denies the charges against him, which carry a prison term of more than 10 years. Rimsevics’s case ...

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Nordea Bank culls securities from market unit amid negative rates

Bloomberg As long-term negative interest rates reshape life in the Nordic region, its biggest bank is trying to reinvent one of its most important business areas. Nordea Bank Abp says it’s rethinking how it does market making — a service that helps investors carry out securities trades and ensures liquidity — in an effort to adapt to long-term negative rates. ...

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Rand gains as S Africa dodges ‘downgrade’

Bloomberg South Africa’s rand and bonds rose after the country clung to its last investment-grade credit rating. The currency gained 1.7% to 14.7853 per dollar, the most on a closing basis in more than three weeks, and paring its loss since the end of June to 4.7%. The yield on rand-denominated government bonds fell the most since early 2018 and ...

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World Bank ready to spend $5 billion in Congo in five years, with conditions

Bloomberg The World Bank could provide as much as $5 billion to Democratic Republic of Congo over the next five years if its new government commits to raising more revenue, fighting corruption and opening up its economy. The financing would be a welcome boost for Congo’s new president, Felix Tshisekedi, who has promised a bold series of costly social programs, ...

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Philippine central bank chief says no more rate cuts this year

Bloomberg The Philippine central bank is done with easing monetary policy for this year after it cut interest rates three times and pumped liquidity into the banking system, Governor Benjamin Diokno said. When asked if there would be no more reductions in the benchmark rate or reserve requirement ratio in 2019, Diokno said “absolutely.” Monetary authorities have done “more than ...

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BOE governor race thrown into turmoil by Dec election

Bloomberg While the appointment of Mark Carney’s successor has been officially delayed, a frenzy of speculation about who will get the job was seen. Several reports on the government’s favourites were met with news that there is no preferred candidate at this time. The confusion sums up what has thus far been a chaotic appointment process, continually delayed by Brexit. ...

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Negative rates to hurt Deutsche’s customers

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG will pass on negative interest rates only to larger corporate customers or the deposits of wealthy individuals and spare most retail clients, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Karl von Rohr said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. The bank is talking to the customers affected and they understand the issues, von Rohr said. German banks have ...

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Goldman says potential RBA QE might not pack a punch for Australian stocks

Bloomberg Australia’s stock market may not get the kind of boost historically seen in its peers should the country’s central bank unleash quantitative easing, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The problem is already-low bond yields and elevated equity valuations, Goldman analysts Matthew Ross and Bill Zu wrote in a November 1 note. While Goldman still doesn’t see Reserve Bank ...

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Bumper real yields make Philippine peso strong

Bloomberg The Philippine peso has a secret weapon that has made it one of Asia’s best-performing currencies this year: bumper real yields. While the central bank has cut interest rates three times this year to spur growth —which typically saps demand for a currency — slowing inflation has ensured that real yields on the nation’s bonds have remained among the ...

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India’s Yes Bank tops loss estimates over bad loans

Bloomberg Yes Bank Ltd, the Indian lender that’s been courting investors following management turmoil and scrutiny of bad loans, posted a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss as soured debt increased and the firm took a one-time charge. The loss totalled 6 billion rupees ($84.7 million) for the three months ended on September 30, compared with net income of 9.65 billion rupees a ...

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