Banking

Bloomberg Dutch state-controlled bank ABN Amro Group NV is edging towards raising its payout to shareholders after a strong second quarter and cuts to its underperforming investment bank. “Yes, we feel more confident there after this quarter,” Chief Executive Officer Kees van Dijkhuizen said at a press conference when asked about a dividend increase. The higher payout could take the ...

Bloomberg Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s record-profit run is over after the nation’s biggest lender paid the price for a series of scandals and missteps. Cash profit from continuing operations fell 4.8 percent to A$9.23 billion ($6.85 billion) in the 12 months ended on June 30, the Sydney-based lender said in a statement. That was the first drop in annual profit ...

Bloomberg The Uruguayan subsidiary of HSBC may seek regulatory approval as soon as next year for a second covered bond programme of about $100 million as the bank aims to take 15 percent of the home loan market in two years, according to senior executives. “I wouldn’t rule out pitching a new programme to the central bank if the origination ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG’s Southeast Asia vice chairman Philip Lee is leaving the German lender, capping a string of senior departures in the region. Lee, also the chief country officer for Singapore, is departing to pursue other interests, after building out the bank’s Southeast Asia client franchise over the past five years, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. ...

Bloomberg Elon Musk’s shock $82 billion offer to buy out the loss-making Tesla Inc. has the market wondering just how he will find the cash. But when it comes to his grand plans to build electric cars in China, he already has the answer: the nation’s state-owned banks. With a factory just outside of Shanghai key to Musk’s vision of ...

Bloomberg Commerzbank AG’s long search for scale is finally starting to pay off, but it’s costing more than expected. Profit and revenue at Germany’s second-largest listed bank beat the highest estimate in the second quarter, as it expanded its business more aggressively. However, its core capital level dropped surprisingly, due to it taking on more risk in its corporate loan ...

Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG hired private banker Heinz Puth and three others from Swiss rival Julius Baer Group Ltd. to boost its Singapore team focussing on wealthy Indonesians, according to a person familiar with the matter. Puth and the former Julius Baer relationship managers will report to Johanes Oeni, who heads Credit Suisse’s private banking market group for Indonesia, ...

Bloomberg Australia’s securities regulator will embed supervisors in the big-four banks in a push to get tough on corporate misbehaviour after a string of scandals. Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) staff will be placed inside Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp., National Australia Bank Ltd., Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and embattled wealth manager AMP Ltd. ...

Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S’s legal jeopardy is deepening. Prosecutors in Denmark said they had opened a criminal investigation into the bank, acting on “multiple complaints” that the Estonian unit of the country’s biggest lender was used to funnel billions of kroner of dirty money. The prosecutors said that they had been following “the case very closely” for a long period ...

Bloomberg Nedbank Group Ltd. forecast that interest-earning banking assets will increase at a rate below that of nominal growth in South Africa’s gross domestic product, after earlier predicting it will be in line with the economy’s expansion. The lender’s credit-loss ratio, which rose 6 basis points to 53 basis points, will also increase slightly above the level achieved in 2017 ...