Banking

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG and UBS Group AG briefly explored the idea of a megamerger earlier this year that would have created continental Europe’s biggest financial institution, people with knowledge of the matter said. Top Deutsche Bank and UBS officials held preliminary discussions in recent months about a potential combination, according to the people, who asked not to be identified ...

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co is in negotiations to settle a US probe into procurement of low-income housing tax credits as its top lawyer tries to clean up issues before handing off the chief executive officer role. The US Justice Department is aiming to resolve an investigation into multiple banks’ alleged manipulation of tax-credit bidding in the next couple months, ...

Bloomberg Judy Shelton, a conservative economist being considered by the White House for a spot on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, isn’t convinced the goals set for it by Congress are relevant for the US central bank. “I would probably be highly skeptical of those,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg, referring to the mandate in the Federal ...

Bloomberg Chinese central bank officials downplayed emerging stress in the financial system following the state takeover of a regional bank, and said depreciation in the currency is under control. Speaking at an event in Beijing, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said policy makers are “fully capable” of managing risks at small and medium-sized lenders, and the Chinese currency ...

Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will offer euro-area banks generous terms on its upcoming long-term loans when it meets next week but won’t do anything to soften the impact of negative rates, economists predict. Respondents in a Bloomberg survey said the interest rate on the two-year loans will be below the ECB’s benchmark rate — currently zero — if ...

Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank cut its growth forecast for this year, opening the door to the possibility that Latin America’s second-largest economy will expa- nd less than 1 percent amid weak industrial production. Growth this year is likely to be 0.8 percent to 1.8 percent, less than previously expected 1.1 percent to 2.1 percent, the central bank said in quarterly ...

Bloomberg United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB) is betting Southeast Asia will shield it from the escalating trade war between the US and China, distancing itself from the approach of its two main rivals that have expanded their focus to Hong Kong and the mainland. “Asean will become a safe haven,” Chief Executive Officer Wee Ee Cheong said in an interview ...

Bloomberg The biggest trading houses on Wall Street are warning of a slump. Citigroup Inc. said trading revenue has declined so far this quarter while Bank of America Corp. indicated revenue is on pace to be about 10 percent lower. They joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. in reporting a downturn for the business. A burgeoning trade war, the UK’s planned ...

Bloomberg Climate change could hit bank balance sheets with a knock-on effect on financial stability, the European Central Bank (ECB) warned on Wednesday. In a special feature for its semi-annual Financial Stability Review on Wednesday, the ECB said problems will materialise if markets aren’t correctly pricing the risks stemming from extreme weather events and the transition to a low-carbon emission ...

Bloomberg The Irish government sna-gged a payment of about 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) from the country’s central bank, according to a person familiar with the matter. The transfer flowed from the bank’s 2018 earnings, said the person, who asked not to be named as the information is private. Details will be published with the regulator’s annual report on Wednesday ...