Banking

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG said it’s in talks with Commerzbank AG as part of a review of its strategic options, moving closer to creating a national champion lender as both banks struggle to grow. The lender confirmed it is “engaging” in talks with Commerzbank as it seeks to boost growth and profitability. Bloomberg first reported that the banks’ boards were ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) left its monetary stimulus program unchanged as it downgraded its assessment of exports, factory output and overseas economies. The BOJ’s decision to maintain its policy interest rates and asset purchases was predicted by all 46 experts surveyed by Bloomberg. Its gloomier take on the economy was also largely expected after a raft of weak ...

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. boosted Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan’s compensation by 5.7 percent to $18.4 million for last year as the bank has worked to overcome multiple scandals. Sloan got $2.4 million in salary and $14 million of restricted stock linked to performance goals, the San Francisco-based bank said in a regulatory filing. He also got a $2 ...

Bloomberg Mechanics Bank agreed to buy much of Dutch lender Rabobank Group’s US operations for about $2.1 billion, bringing together two California lenders and extending the combined company’s reach throughout much of the state. Mechanics, based in Walnut Creek, California, is gaining Rabobank’s US retail, business-banking, commercial real estate, mortgage and wealth- management businesses, the companies said in a statement. ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG is rebuffing pressure from top performers to restructure retention bonuses after the awards tumbled in value last year and opened the way for more defections, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank told key staff in recent weeks it won’t make any changes to the program, which began in 2017, the people said, asking ...

Bloomberg Sweden’s oldest bank may have handled considerably more in suspicious transactions tied to an Estonian money laundering scandal than first reported. Swedbank AB, which dominates financial markets in the Baltic region, allegedly let about 95 billion kronor ($10.2 billion) in questionable flows move through its accounts between 2007 and 2015, according to Sweden’s main television broadcaster, SVT, which cited ...

Bloomberg Mario Draghi’s latest stimulus salvo means his successor as European Central Bank chief may not be forced into the kind of monetary policy U-turn he once faced. The president, who began his eight-year term reversing course on a recent interest-rate increase by his predecessor, has set in place the conditions to keep the euro zone in easing mode until ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is targeting 2 billion francs ($2 billion) in pretax profit for 2019 in its key wealth-manage-ment unit, seeking a fourth consecutive year of profit growth for the division, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Iqbal Khan, head of international wealth management, told staff at an internal company event last week that he’s aiming ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG faces stiff resistance from some supervisory board members to a merger with German competitor Commerzbank AG as the deal raises the prospect of tens of thousands of job cuts. Jan Duscheck and Stephan Szukalski, two key labour representatives on Deutsche Bank’s highest oversight body, oppose the merger, saying a combination would fail to achieve the goal ...

Bloomberg Strategists are telling investors to prepare for both the best and the worst outcomes as risk assets around the world reach a crossroads. Global markets are facing a number of positive catalysts in 2019. The Federal Reserve’s in a wait-and-see mode, and the European Central Bank has begun upping its stimulus. Economies around the world are growing and the ...