Banking

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan gave in to critics and abruptly stepped down, after the 31-year company veteran struggled to tame a range of scandals, launching the fourth-largest US bank into a hasty search for a successor. Sloan, 58, will be replaced on an interim basis by the firm’s general counsel, C Allen Parker. The …

Bloomberg The Bank of Italy replaced its second-highest official and named two new members to its top body following months of tense relations with a populist government that questioned its record on banking supervision. Fabio Panetta, 59, has been promoted to director general to succeed Salvatore Rossi, who told staff this month he didn’t intend to stay beyond the expiration …

Bloomberg Morgan Stanley President Colm Kelleher, who helped navigate the firm through the financial crisis and was once seen as a potential successor to Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, plans to depart at the end of June. Kelleher, 61, will continue as a senior adviser after his official retirement, according to an internal memo Gorman sent employees. “I am extremely …

Bloomberg New York’s financial regulator is asking two Nordic banks for detailed information about their transactions with Danske Bank A/S as part of a burgeoning investigation into global money laundering, according to a person familiar with the matter. The two banks, Nordea Bank Abp of Finland and SEB AB of Sweden, must also give New York’s Department of Financial Services …

Bloomberg In a world of persistently low inflation and slowing economic growth, central banks are finding a useful instrument in their toolboxes to curb financial risk. Macroprudential measures — such as limiting who gets a mortgage and adjusting banks’ reserve requirements — have gained traction with central banks since the global financial crisis, and are proving effective. The targeted tools …

Bloomberg Stephen Moore, who Donald Trump may nominate for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board, told the New York Times in an interview that the central bank should immediately reverse course and lower interest rates by half a percentage point. That’s a contrast from language used by sitting board members in recent days. San Francisco President Mary Daly told …

Bloomberg Mario Draghi said the European Central Bank (ECB) is ready to soften the impact of negative interest rates if they are found to harm the transmission of its monetary policy. “If necessary, we need to reflect on possible measures that can preserve the favorable implications of negative rates for the economy, while mitigating the side effects, if any,” the …

Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is expected to ease policy less aggressively in 2019 compared with the previous year, while maintaining steady injections of liquidity, according to analysts. The PBOC will continue to reduce the amount of money lenders have to put aside as reserves, with the earliest cut taking place next quarter and two others in the …

Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank joined the global shift away from higher interest rates, saying its next move is more likely to be a cut and sending the kiwi dollar tumbling by the most in seven weeks. “Given the weaker global economic outlook and reduced momentum in domestic spe-nding, the more likely direction of our next OCR move is down,” …

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s traditional banks are set to face one of their biggest challenges yet: a new breed of financial technology firms estimated to snare as much as 30 percent of their revenue. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has granted three virtual bank licenses and is processing five more, Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen said in a briefing on Wednesday. …