Banking

BNP Paribas prop-trading arm lost $30m

Bloomberg A BNP Paribas SA division created to make speculative bets for the bank’s own account lost tens of millions of dollars last year as trading revenue slumped amid volatile markets, leading executives to shutter the business. Opera Trading Capital, which ceased trading in January, posted a loss of $30 million for 2018, filings show. Net banking income before operating ...

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RSA’s Hester, Citi’s Bird on HSBC’s CEO shortlist

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s shortlist for its next chief executive officer includes Stephen Bird, Citigroup Inc’s head of global consumer banking, and RSA Insurance Group Plc CEO Stephen Hester, Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper reported. HSBC hired Egon Zehnder to help with the search process, the newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. The report said a key consideration ...

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Credit Suisse board backs CEO ahead of scandal decision

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG’s board is backing CEO TidjaneThiam ahead of a crucial meeting that will determine who takes the blame for a botched spying scandal, according to people familiar with the matter. Recent expressions of support by shareholders for senior executives is swaying the board, which has few obvious successors for Thiam should he be ousted, the people ...

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Credit Suisse saga exposes banker-surveillance state

Bloomberg The scene: a street in Zurich. The mark: a wealthy Swiss banker. His pursuers: hired goons looking for intel. It sounds like something ripped from John Le Carre. In fact, it’s real-life — and not all that unusual in the world of high finance. News that Credit Suisse Group AG had hired private investigators to tail a star banker ...

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Bad loans prompt India to sanction bank that’s seeking merger

Bloomberg India’s central bank placed lending restrictions on Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd, adding to the company’s troubles after its chief executive officer abruptly quit last month and police registered a case of alleged fraud. Lakshmi Vilas Bank, which is seeking a merger with financier Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd to reduce its delinquent debt, was informed it would be brought under ...

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Greece needs lower fiscal targets: IMF

Bloomberg A reduction of Greece’s fiscal targets would support the country’s economic and social recovery, the International Monetary Fund said. In 2020, the IMF recommends that “the government and European partners build consensus around a lower primary balance path, given ample economic slack and critical unmet social spending and investment needs,” according to the fund’s statement after the conclusion of ...

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Jefferies hit by $146m WeWorks writedown

Bloomberg Jefferies Financial Group Inc’s earnings took a hit from an unlikely source: WeWork’s dropping valuation. Third-quarter revenue came in below even the lowest analyst expectationas the company’s merchant banking unit wrote down the value of its investment in We Co by $146 million. Net revenue fell slightly to $777 million despite increases in both fixed-income and equities trading, Jefferies ...

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Post-crisis rules may hold answer to ‘one mystery’ in US

Bloomberg Behind-the-scenes regulatory requirements imposed on the largest US banks may help explain one mystery spawned by recent turmoil in an obscure, but important, slice of the multitrillion-dollar money market. Dealers and policy makers alike have wondered why big banks didn’t step in as rates on overnight repurchase agreements soared to record highs. Those banks have about $1.4 trillion deposited ...

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Wells Fargo names Charles Scharf as CEO

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co named Charlie Scharf chief executive officer, marking a new era in the bank’s efforts to turn itself around after a series of scandals claimed two previous CEOs in the past three years. Scharf, the CEO of Bank of New York (BNY) Mellon Corp, will replace interim chief Allen Parker on October 21, capping a wide-ranging ...

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ABN Amro under probe for money-laundering

Bloomberg Europe’s widening money laundering scandals took a new turn as ABN Amro Bank NV disclosed a criminal probe over alleged failures to check on clients and report suspicious transactions, a further sign of woe in an industry already struggling to grow profitability. Shares of the state-controlled bank slumped the most since its 2015 initial public offering and its bonds ...

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