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 ...
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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 ...
Read More »Powell: Solid economy faces headwinds as Fed mulls rates
Bloomberg Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the US economy is strong but could face headwinds next year as policy makers weigh how far and fast to raise interest rates. “We have to be thinking about how much further to raise rates, and the pace at which we will raise rates,†Powell said during a question and answers session in ...
Read More »Chinese top bank fails to sell dollar bonds to US buyers
Bloomberg China’s biggest lender pulled an offering of dollar bonds in the US market, adding to concern that American investor demand for Chinese offerings is dwindling amid the trade war. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Ltd had been marketing three-year and five-year floating-rate notes through its New York branch, then decided not to proceed with pricing, according to people ...
Read More »Warren Buffett ramps up bets on banks
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 ...
Read More »Risky debt could magnify downturn: RBA’s Debelle
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 ...
Read More »Indonesian central bank surprises with 6th rate hike this year
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 ...
Read More »Greek banks inch towards relief from $47bn bad loans
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 ...
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