Banking

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 ...

Bloomberg Former Wall Street trader Edgar Fernandez used some of his Bitcoin as collateral to borrow nearly $100,000, a move that let him keep his cryptocurrency and avert a tax bill on the newly acquired cash. The tax perk stems from a longstanding principle that assets aren’t taxed until sold, much like borrowing against stock holdings. Yet digital currency carries ...

Bloomberg The new head of Japan’s main banking lobby warned the central bank against deepening negative interest rates, signalling such a move could spur risky investment and put further pressure on lenders’ profits. “It will be a quite difficult option to take,” Makoto Takashima, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association, said in an interview. “Simply speaking, that would cause policy ...

Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) officials pressed the case for continued monetary-policy support as they signalled the euro-area economic slowdown is weighing on inflation. In a foreword to the ECB’s annual report, President Mario Draghi warned of a “persistence of uncertainties” and said there’s a continued need for stimulus to boost inflation. His vice president, Luis de Guindos echoed that, ...

Bloomberg Perella Weinberg Partners LP is hiring Clinton Ray and Guy Morgan from Goldman Sachs Group Inc to expand its European restructuring business, according to people familiar with the matter. The bankers will join the firm in London in June to advise new and existing clients on restructuring, debt advisory and liability management, said the people, who asked not to ...

Bloomberg A criminal probe tied to money laundering allegations engulfing Swedbank AB drew sharp recriminations from both sides over the weekend, and raised serious questions about the role of the board. After the prosecutor accused Sweden’s biggest mortgage bank of refusing to hand over key information, Swedbank’s lawyers responded with claims that investigators were ignoring the norms of Swedish law. ...

Bloomberg Switzerland has room for further easing, though fiscal policy needs to be better utilised to boost long-term growth, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is using some of the world’s lowest interest rates and a threat to intervene in currency markets to stem appreciation on the franc. Yet even with a deposit rate ...