Banking

Bloomberg Reserve Bank of New Zealand Board Chairman Neil Quigley has blocked media from attending a presentation he will deliver on reforms at the central bank. Quigley is speaking on Tuesday at an Institute of Directors luncheon in Hamilton on “Governance and Decision-Making at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.” The event is open to institute members for NZ$50 ($34) ...

Bloomberg Bank of America (BofA) is jumping on the AI bandwagon. For the first time, the bank’s currency strategists are using machine-learning programs — which enable computers to comb through vast amounts of data to draw inferences and make predictions on their own — to tell clients what to buy and sell. They began producing AI-based research last month, as ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank said it’ll keep economic development steady and stabilise market expectations, and reiterated a more cautious tone on debt containment. The People’s Bank of China will keep a close eye on domestic and global economic developments and step up “forward-looking policy fine-tuning,” according to a statement released after a meeting a day earlier of the monetary-policy advisory ...

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan reduced debt purchases for a third time in June, taking advantage of the recent stability in bond yields and the yen. The BOJ lowered buying in the five-to-10 year segment by 20 billion yen ($181 million) to 410 billion yen at a regular operation. The yen — which has in the past shown a tendency ...

Bloomberg The pain felt in South Africa’s economy in the first quarter was echoed in the banking industry. The value of new consumer credit granted in the first quarter declined more than 10 percent to 121.6 billion rand ($8.9 billion) from the previous three months, according to data compiled by the National Credit Regulator. The number of applications for loans ...

Bloomberg Central banks in emerging economies are losing the battle with markets as their efforts to shield their currencies struggle for traction, suggesting policy makers have more work to do. Rising US interest rates, the strong dollar, higher oil prices, China’s market and economic wobbles and fears of a global trade war are conspiring to pressure emerging-market currencies. Here’s a ...

Bloomberg Federal Reserve stress tests forced some of Wall Street’s top banks to rein in ambitious plans for pumping out cash to shareholders. But even those diminished returns spell a record payout to investors. As the central bank’s annual stress tests ended, the nation’s four largest lenders — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. ...

Bloomberg European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned European Union leaders that an escalating trade war between the US and the world’s biggest economies may have a larger impact than policy makers and investors currently expect. Rising tensions could erode confidence to an extent that is difficult to gauge, Draghi told the 27 heads of government from the bloc at ...

Bloomberg Prosecutors in Cologne are preparing their first indictments in a tax-evasion probe involving some of the biggest names in finance that cost the German treasury billions of euros, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators are looking at the role of dozens of banks, brokerages, accounting companies, and law firms in the deals, and the cases involve hundreds ...

Bloomberg Kenya’s biggest bank is waiting eagerly for Ethiopia to open its closely guarded financial services sector as new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warms up to foreign investment in ongoing market reforms. KCB Group Ltd. set up a representative office in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, in 2015 to position itself for when Africa’s fastest-growing economy finally relaxes its policy ...