Banking

BLOOMBERG Nigeria’s central bank has released inaugural guidelines for banks opening cryptocurrency accounts, while retaining its ban on them holding or trading in virtual assets on their own behalf. The rules, published on the central bank’s website, flesh out the regulator’s decision last month to lift its prohibition on banks operating accounts for crypto service providers. “Current trends globally have ...

BLOOMBERG More than a decade after regulators vowed to tame the risks of too-big-to-fail banks, White House officials were on a call. Why, one attendee asked, was JPMorgan Chase & Co allowed to buy First Republic Bank that morning in a government-led auction? The answer came, flatly, from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: They had the highest bid. After a year ...

BLOOMBERG Asset managers turned bullish on the yen from bearish for the first time since May on the growing view that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will probably end its ultra-easy policy in 2024 while its major peers cut interest rates. The latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data for the week through December 19 also showed a slight reduction in ...

BLOOMBERG Betting against the dollar is growing in popularity after the Federal Reserve upended markets by signalling the end of its monetary tightening campaign. Non-commercial traders — a group that includes hedge funds, asset managers and other speculative market players — boosted their bearish bets on the greenback, according to CFTC data compiled by Bloomberg. More than 39,000 contracts are ...

BLOOMBERG Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to ramp up its credit business in India and sees an increasing opportunity to target the nation’s wealthy diaspora as global investors shift their focus from China to what is now the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The investment bank wants to broaden the range of loans it offers through its shadow banking unit, according ...

BLOOMBERG Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s pivot towards interest-rate cuts is spreading holiday cheer in the White House, where the improved prospects for an economic soft landing are a boon for President Joe Biden’s bid for another term. Biden has seen his poll numbers sag amid voter anxiety over a surge in the cost of living, and he would face ...

BLOOMBERG The dollar dropped to a four-month low as traders digested the clearest signal yet that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive hiking campaign is over. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped as much as 0.5% to its lowest since August on Thursday, extending losses from the day prior after Fed officials penciled in a sharper pace of rate cuts than they ...

BLOOMBERG The Philippine peso has outperformed its Asian peers this year and a seasonal pick-up in overseas remittances ahead of Christmas will likely extend the gains. Remittances are a key pillar of the nation’s economy, which typically receives the highest cash transfers in the last month of the year as workers send money home for holiday spending. The inflows have ...

BLOOMBERG Societe Generale SA is reviving a potential sale of its private UK bank Kleinwort Hambros, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would allow the French lender to free up capital. The French bank is working with advisers to explore interest in the unit, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. ...

BLOOMBERG Europe’s top banking watchdog will become more powerful as European Union (EU) lawmakers expand its remit to include risks linked to climate change and the rise of digital assets. As sweeping update of regulation detailed this week mandates the European Central Bank to monitor how lenders plan to transition to a net-zero carbon economy over the next three decades. ...