Bloomberg Societe Generale SA settled its longstanding sanctions violations case with US authorities, entering a deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors and paying $1.34 billion to regulators in New York and Washington. As part of the settlement, France’s third-largest bank acknowledged violations of US sanctions laws against Cuba, Iran and Sudan starting as far back as 2003 and extending to ...
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BOE’s Carney backs May’s Brexit plan
Bloomberg Mark Carney gave his seal of approval to the transition deal agreed by Prime Minister Theresa May’s with the European Union, and signalled that he would welcome even longer for the UK to adjust. In his first public comments on the government’s draft agreement, the Bank of England (BOE) governor united with other central bank officials to warn of ...
Read More »RBI, Modi govt signal truce on reserves
Bloomberg India’s central bank signalled a compromise with the government by agreeing to study a demand for sharing a part of its capital — an issue that had triggered a public spat between the monetary policy makers and their political bosses. The Reserve Bank of India will form a panel to consider the funds transfer to the government, the central ...
Read More »ECB: Banks breaking pledge to avoid risk
Bloomberg European lenders are breaking promises that they would avoid excessive risk in the wake of the financial crisis, according to the European Central Bank. “We’re seeing more and more banks take risks that, back in 2008 and 2009, they said they’d never do again,†said Korbinian Ibel, a director general at the ECB’s banking supervision arm. “They argue that ...
Read More »Greece mulls subsidy for debtors to get banks back on track
Bloomberg Greece is trying everything to get its banks back on track, including a direct subsidy to some of their most troubled customers. The government is working on a plan to lessen the burden for borrowers of modest means who can’t repay their debts, according to two people familiar with the project. Though it’s not clear how many borrowers would ...
Read More »UBS could face $6 billion in fines as tax-fraud trial ends
Bloomberg In the middle of UBS Group AG’s six-week tax trial in Paris, Presiding Judge Christine Mee’s tone changed. And that may have given a sign of what the bank can expect in a case that could cost it as much as $6 billion. The hearings, which have ended, started well for the Zurich-based bank. A team of 20 high-powered ...
Read More »Nordea dropped off list of global systemic banks
Bloomberg Nordea Bank Abp just dropped off the list of global banks deemed too big to fail, but that doesn’t mean it can hold less regulatory capital. The Financial Stability Board removed Nordea from a group it defines as global systemically important banks (G-SIB). A G-SIB needs to have more capital than other banks, so the assumption is that no ...
Read More »Poland vows liquidity for troubled banks
Bloomberg Poland’s finance minister and central bank chief pledged to provide liquidity for two lenders at the center of a corruption scandal as investors again sold battered bank stocks. “We are ready to guarantee that these banks have and will maintain liquidity,†Governor Adam Glapinski said on Monday. “Their clients are safe.†He spoke after the country’s Financial Stability Committee ...
Read More »Argentina nears end of a key rate floor
Bloomberg Argentina’s central bank may eliminate the floor on its benchmark interest rate in early December if it sees a second consecutive decline in inflation expectations, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plan. The decision to eliminate the 60 percent floor may come as early as December 3, said the two people. Policy makers want to see ...
Read More »Africa central banks may move to tighten monetary policy
Bloomberg A plunging oil price gives African central banks more to think about as they move towards a cycle of raising interest rates. With a month to go before the US Federal Reserve delivers what would be its fourth interest-rate increase of the year, African policy makers may still move to tighten to avoid a further sell-off of assets and ...
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