Banking

Bloomberg India’s central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate in Governor Shaktikanta Das’s debut policy meeting, a shift that provides more of the stimulus Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government needs to stoke growth as an election nears. The repurchase rate was reduced by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, a decision predicted by just 11 of 43 economists surveyed ...

Bloomberg European Central Bank officials see no urgent need to offer new long-term loans to banks and aren’t certain to do so at their next policy meeting in March, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials aren’t yet convinced about the necessity for more liquidity and are nervous that an offering could fuel perceptions that they’re helping out particular ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave a brief but positive assessment of the economy at an event organized for educators. “The US economy is now in a good place,” Powell said evening in response to audience questions during a meeting with teachers at the central bank’s headquarters in Washington. “At the moment, unemployment is low, prices are near two ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing said the bank will seek to increase revenue without sacrificing discipline as he attempts to reboot the troubled German lender. “We have our costs under control and built a solid foundation with a strong capital base and a very low risk profile,” Sewing said, according to prepared remarks that he was ...

Bloomberg Brazil held its benchmark interest rate unchanged and signalled that Congress needed to approve cost-cutting measures before borrowing costs can fall. The bank board, led by its President Ilan Goldfajn, kept the Selic rate at 6.50 percent for a seventh straight meeting in a decision expected by all 42 economists in a Bloomberg survey. It was likely the last ...

Bloomberg Major US banks shaved about $21 billion from their tax bills last year — almost double the IRS’s annual budget — as the industry benefited more than many others from the Republican tax overhaul. By year-end, most of the nation’s largest lenders met or exceeded their initial predictions for tax savings. On average, the banks saw their effective tax ...

Bloomberg The impact of Brexit on London’s financial sector came into stark relief as a judge approved plans by a UBS Group AG unit to shift some of its UK business — involving assets valued at more than 32 billion euros ($36.5 billion) — to Germany. The Swiss bank’s plans are a response to the “external shock” of Britain’s exit ...

Bloomberg Casper von Koskull, the chief executive officer of Nordea Bank Abp, says he has no intention of becoming a market leader when it comes to offering the fattest pay packages to entice talent. The comments come as the biggest Nordic lender revealed that the amount of money it set aside to pay bonuses to its employees slumped 31 percent ...

Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA cut revenue and profitability targets after the French bank was among the hardest hit by a stock market rout at the end of last year. France’s biggest lender is planning 600 million euros ($684 million) in additional cost cuts, focussing on the investment bank that Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe had targeted as a growth driver. ...

Bloomberg Iceland’s central bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged for a second meeting as policy makers face slowing economic growth while inflation remains far above target. The Central Bank of Iceland kept its key interest rate at 4.5 percent, according to a statement. The bank predicted that growth in the smallest Nordic economy will cool to 1.8 percent this year, ...