Banking

2020 might not be a year to think about recession: JPMorgan

Bloomberg The Federal Reserve’s change in tone may mean investors should reconsider the timing of the investment cycle, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. That means investors shouldn’t be driven by fears of recession for now, JP Morgan analysts said. The Fed signalled last week that it’s done raising rates for at least a little while, and that it’ll be ...

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Danske staff told not to fear bonus cuts amid Estonian scandal

Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S may be facing billions of dollars in fines for its Estonian laundering scandal, but its employees don’t need to worry about having their bonuses cut. Jesper Nielsen, who’s been running the bank on an interim basis since Thomas Borgen was relieved of his duties as chief executive in October, says there might be some bonus adjustments ...

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No rush to reverse last year’s rate hikes, says Philippine central banker

Bloomberg Philippine central bank Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said a quick reversal of last year’s monetary tightening — either through a reduction in the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves or a cut in key interest rates — would be “bad economic or monetary policy.” While inflation in the last two months of 2018 cooled from a ...

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Australia bank execs get lashed for misconduct

Bloomberg The final report of an inquiry into misconduct in Australia’s financial system will land with a thud at National Australia Bank Ltd.’s headquarters. It’s just not the size of the three-volume report, but the blast aimed at Chief Executive Officer Andrew Thorburn and Chairman Ken Henry, who testified during the Royal Commission’s final round of hearings. “Having heard from ...

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Defections unlikely to hurt profits, says Danske CEO

Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S isn’t expecting to see financial losses as a result of the client flight triggered by its money laundering scandal, according to its interim chief executive officer, Jesper Nielsen. The bank said it lost about 11,000 retail customers in Denmark, net, last year. It also pointed to “negative impact” of the laundering case on its corporate clients ...

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ECB’s Visco warns of weaker growth

Bloomberg Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco joined his European counterparts in signalling that economic growth will be much weaker than predicted, warning of the implications for euro-area inflation. “The prospects for the Italian economy are less favourable today than they were a year ago,” Visco, who sits on the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, said in a speech to ...

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Natixis seeks sale of Korean derivatives

Bloomberg Natixis SA, the French bank that had sought growth in risky trading businesses, is looking to sell the portfolio of complex Korean derivatives that blew up in the fourth quarter, losing almost $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm has approached potential buyers including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and BNP Paribas SA to gauge their ...

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Powell marks one year as Federal Reserve chairman

Bloomberg Jerome Powell this week marks his first year as chairman as the Federal Reserve under pressure to deliver on the commitment of his opening day to explain “what we are doing and why we are doing it.” Powell hosts a town hall meeting with educators in Washington on Wednesday, a day after he celebrates his anniversary. He does so ...

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Australian banks set for biggest upheaval from probe

Bloomberg Australia’s scandal-plagued banks are set for their biggest upheaval in decades as a wide-ranging inquiry into misconduct recommends how the nation’s financial industry should atone for wrongdoings. In its final report to be released in Canberra, the government-appointed Royal Commi- ssion could propose financial firms be broken up to avoid conflicts of interest, push for changes to pay and ...

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Fed doves delight as Kaplan, Bullard laud policy patience

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard and Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan applauded the central bank’s decision to take a pause on interest-rate increases in separate appearances and said patience was the right approach for the US economy. “I think it set us up for a very good couple of years here,” Bullard said in a ...

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