Banking

Bloomberg The three British currency traders who were part of an exclusive online chat group referred to by members as “the cartel” go on trial this week for alleged market manipulation that’s already cost global banks $14 billion in penalties. The trio represented banks handling a major chunk of the $5.1 trillion-a-day currency market. The men are accused of rigging ...

Bloomberg As concerns from bank investors go, “peak profitability” seems an unusual one. But as the biggest US banks report results that analysts estimate will set a new high for profitability this decade, shareh-olders are wondering: is this as good as gets, or is Jamie Dimon right that banks are entering a golden age. “The quarter will be fine,” Susan ...

Bloomberg UBS Group AG goes on trial in Paris on Monday accused of encouraging rich clients to stash cash overseas to evade French taxes by deploying tactics “worthy of James Bond.” The Zurich-based lender dispatched bankers across the border to seek out new clients even though they lacked the paperwork — a banking license or European passport — to offer ...

Bloomberg Morgan Stanley is remodeling. About 1.2 million square feet (111,000 square meters) of office space will get an overhaul in the next 15 months to put technology experts closer to brokers, traders and bankers, the firm’s head of technology, Rob Rooney, said in an interview. After changes to wealth-management operations, tra- ding floors, investment-banking offices and space tied to ...

Bloomberg The economist tipped to be Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s first central bank board nominee said he expects policy makers to cut the key interest rate starting next year given the outlook for slowing inflation and growth. Policy makers have room to ease even as the Federal Reserve tightens, Jonathan Heath, a former chief economist at HSBC Holdings ...

Bloomberg Bonds traders were fast to cheer the Reserve Bank of India for keeping rates on hold. The gains may prove fleeting. While the central bank surprised by keeping borrowing costs unchanged, it changed its stance to “calibrated tightening” from neutral, signaling more hikes lie ahead. Add to that concerns about soaring oil prices and the tumbling rupee, investors are ...

Bloomberg South Africa will strive to allow competition into its banking system in a way that won’t threaten the stability of the industry as more and more entrants seek to rival the nation’s biggest lenders, said Kuben Naidoo, the chief executive of the Prudential Authority. While many new banking licenses are expected to be granted, these would be done within ...

Bloomberg India’s central bank stared down the rupee’s slide to a record low, opting to keep interest rates unchanged as it flagged risks to the economy from global monetary policy tightening, trade wars and surging oil prices. In a surprise decision, the monetary policy committee led by Governor Urjit Patel voted 5-1 to leave the repurchase rate at 6.5 percent. ...

Bloomberg The Estonian laundromat scandal has been on Danske Bank A/S investors’ radar for more than a year. But last week, everything changed. News of a US Department of Justice investigation has caused panic. The bank’s shares were dumped and some bondholders are even wondering whether Danske might start having trouble making interest payments on its riskiest debt. At Swedish ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank cut the amount of cash lenders must hold as reserves for the fourth time this year, as policy makers seek to shore up the economy amid a worsening trade war. The People’s Bank of China lowered the required reserve ratio for some lenders by 1 percentage point, effective from October 15, according to a statement on ...