Banking

Bloomberg South Korea’s central bank warned that economic growth would be weaker than forecast after cutting its policy rate for the second time this year as a global downturn pummels exports and weighs on prices. The move comes amid a wave of rate cutting by central banks around the world to shore up growth and highlights the sense of urgency ...

Bloomberg Bank of America (BofA) Corp posted the biggest jump in investment-banking fees on Wall Street, helping profit overcome headwinds from lower interest rates. Third-quarter debt underwriting fees unexpectedly surged 19% and the firm’s fixed-income traders eked out a slight increase, pushing profit above analysts’ estimates. Its gains in advisory fees also surpassed rivals in the best quarter for the ...

Bloomberg Citigroup is calling for greater consistency in implementing regulations for the banking industry Africa and warned frequent changes will harm the sector. The bank’s business was one of 12 lenders Nigeria’s central bank penalised last month for failing to meet credit-provision targets. Citigroup was handed a 100.7 billion naira ($279 million) penalty out of a combined sanction of 500 ...

Bloomberg Ant Financial Services Group is seeking a syndicated loan of up to $3.5 billion at a lower rate, joining other Chinese technology giants in their bid to slash debt costs. The company is in talks with lenders for a $2.5 billion financing that comes with a $1 billion greenshoe option, according to people familiar with the matter. The price ...

Bloomberg Cryptocurrency investors better not take their eyes off China, even after regulators there started to crack down on digital assets. In recent months, over-the-counter crypto trading in China has exploded, just as Chinese spot traders began buying nearly all of their Bitcoin with the stablecoin Tether, according to a study by researcher Chainalysis Inc. Tether was used in 99% ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG will boost the number of private bankers that serve its richest clients in the first move by the bank’s new international wealth-management chief. The lender plans to “significantly expand” its business for its strategic clients, who are mostly billionaires, according to a memo from Philipp Wehle seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by a bank spokesperson. ...

Bloomberg Citigroup Inc, which is dissolving its investment-banking joint venture in China, is now planning to set up a wholly- owned securities business in the world’s second-largest capital market, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The New York-based bank may initially focus on brokerage and futures trading while expanding its custodian services in China, the people said, asking ...

Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co’s traders and investment bankers emerged from a messy third quarter with a few surprise wins. Fixed-income trading jumped 25% and investment-banking fees posted an unexpected increase, the company said on Tuesday in a statement. That led the corporate and investment bank division to its best third quarter in three years. JPMorgan seized on some late-quarter ...

Bloomberg South Korea’s first-ever drop in consumer prices and a relentless decline in exports are adding to the case for the central bank to cut interest rates on Wednesday. The Bank of Korea (BOK), which lowered its key rate in July and left it unchanged in August, will reduce the seven-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%, matching ...

Bloomberg Bank of England (BOE) Governor Mark Carney has defended the concept behind new crypto currencies like the Facebook Inc-led Libra. Asked by lawmakers in London on Tuesday why firms like the social media company should be getting involved in such projects given the associated risks, Carney pointed to the shortcomings of existing payments systems. He said the high costs ...