Banking

Bloomberg Banco Santander SA pledged to cut 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) of annual costs and ramp up investment in digital and its prized Brazilian business as the Spanish lender seeks to revive its moribund share price. The Spanish banking group plans to achieve the incremental cost cuts over three to four years while investing 20 billion euros in digitalisation, ...

Bloomberg UniCredit SpA is nearing an agreement with US authorities over allegations that the bank provided dollar-clearing services to Iranian clients in violation of US sanctions, people with the knowledge of the matter said. The deal would cost the Italian lender about $900 million but spare it from criminal prosecution, the people said. A settlement of that size would be ...

Bloomberg Zimbabwe’s lenders, which include units of Standard Bank Group Ltd and Ecobank Ltd, appealed to the central bank to raise interest rates that have been capped at 12 percent for the past two years, saying this would increase lending in the collapsing economy. They also proposed that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduce an overnight rate to facilitate lending ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp plans to hire about 10 people to boost its in-house investment capabilities, primarily from Goldman Sachs Group Inc, according to people familiar with the situation. The additions will come from banking, private equity, consulting and, in at least one case, the medical profession, said the people, asking not to be named because the matter is private. ...

Bloomberg Germany’s beleaguered investment bankers could face even more competition when rivals move staff to the country after Brexit. While relocations from the UK will initially have little effect, that may change if banks then use their newly established presence in Germany to expand in the local market for investment banking services, Joachim Wuermeling, the head of banking supervision at ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England (BOE) has been meeting with direct lenders to gauge the industry’s resilience to slowing growth, according to two people familiar with the matter. At least two of the biggest UK private credit funds met separately with members of the central bank’s financial stability unit in the past month, said the people, who asked not to ...

Bloomberg Britain’s pound presents the biggest opportunity within developed-market currencies with a probable break-the-Brexit logjam moment coming soon, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “We’re coming to a big finish here,” Zach Pandl, Goldman’s co-head of global foreign exchange and emerging market strategy, said on Bloomberg Television after the UK Parliament again rejected all alternatives to Prime Minister Theresa May’s ...

Bloomberg Denmark’s financial watchdog is warning that smaller banks need to be on high alert for signs of money laundering as larger lenders tighten their surveillance systems. Jesper Berg, director general of the Financial Supervisory Authority in Copenhagen, said Denmark is concentrating on “building the lines of defense and having them stronger,” in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Denmark’s biggest ...

Bloomberg The Hermitage Capital Management co-founder who’s become an activist in the fight against money laundering says Sweden’s decision not to pursue his case against Swedbank AB because of a statute of limitations won’t stop him seeking other avenues. Bill Browder, whose criminal complaints against Danske Bank A/S were followed by investigations in multiple jurisdictions, says the Swedish decision was ...

Bloomberg Geneva prosecutors are investigating a former back-office employee of Banque Pictet over allegations the person stole millions of dollars from Switzerland’s biggest privately-owned bank. An investigation was opened on March 19 into suspicions of fraud and breach of trust, according to a spokeswoman for the Geneva prosecutor’s office. She declined to give further details and the person’s name has ...