Banking

Bloomberg Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc is betting big on banks. The billionaire’s company piled more than $13 billion into those stocks in the quarter, making Berkshire a major shareholder in four of the five largest US banks, according to a regulatory filing. Berkshire disclosed a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co and increased bets on Bank of America ...

Bloomberg Australia’s central bank No. 2 official Guy Debelle says risky borrowing is more likely to be an accelerator to an economic downturn rather than its source, in an address discussing the impact of lending curbs. “If a negative shock were to hit the Australian economy, particularly one that caused a sizeable rise in unemployment, then the risk on the ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate for a sixth time this year to help rein in a widening trade deficit and bolster the currency. The seven-day reverse repurchase rate was raised by 25 basis points to 6 percent, surprising most economists who had predicted no change. That takes the cumulative rate hikes since May to 175 ...

Bloomberg Greek authorities are moving forward with two different plans to save their banks from a downward spiral. Some would-be investors think they’re too clever by half. To reduce non-performing loans, the Greek central bank is proposing a special-purpose vehicle created with the stricken lenders’ tax credits — themselves an accounting creation of the nation’s past debt restructuring. With those ...

Bloomberg Poland’s financial industry regulator quit after a newspaper reported that he made an improper offer to the owner of a troubled bank, triggering a government investigation. Financial Supervision Authority Chairman Marek Chrzanowski said allegations by Gazeta Wyborcza were a “dishonest and groundless” provocation, but that he must resign to ensure stability in the banking industry, he told Poland’s PAP ...

Bloomberg Denmark’s prime minister says he feels “deceived” and “let down” after backing free-market policies that helped make life easier for a financial industry now mired in scandal. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who leads a center-right coalition, told lawmakers in the Danish parliament that his country’s banks “didn’t behave at all,” leaving him feeling “completely let down.” Denmark is trying to ...

Bloomberg Interest-rate hikes are still on the table in Asia as market volatility returns, with Sri Lanka unexpectedly increasing its benchmark rate. Sri Lanka’s central bank raised the standing lending facility rate to 9 percent from 8.5 percent on Wednesday, and almost half of the analysts surveyed are calling for another increase in the Philippines on Thursday. A hike could ...

Bloomberg Karan Dua, an electronics shop owner in south-central Mumbai, placed his hope of crackling sales on Diwali — the Hindu festival of lights when Indians splurge on everything from clothes to cars and jewellery to houses. It hardly lit up business for the 35-year-old shop owner. Businesses like Dua’s are seeing sluggish sales this festive season in part because ...

Bloomberg Geneva prosecutors are investigating whether a Credit Suisse Group AG unit failed to stop money laundering in a widening fraud case tied to a defunct asset manager, according to people familiar with the probe. Prosecutors added the bank to the criminal investigation late last week after two former employees were named as suspects over the summer, said the people, ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said US policy makers ought to be gradually lifting interest rates to bring an economy that’s running above potential in for a soft landing. “It wouldn’t be surprising to me that we would need to go up again in December and at least a couple of times next year,” Daly ...