Banking

Bloomberg SEB AB, one of Sweden’s biggest banks, is on a hiring spree to burnish its technology credentials as more financial services go digital. Chief Executive Officer Johan Torgeby says SEB is hiring as many as “1,400-1,500 people a year right now,” or “about 100 per month.” The bank is taking on people “mainly in new technology, computer scientists, new ...

Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S’s Estonian operations may have been used to launder as much as $8.3 billion in a case that has rocked Denmark and triggered calls for tougher penalties from the country’s political establishment. The amount, which represents roughly a third of Danske’s market value and almost 3 percent of Danish GDP, is more than double that previously estimated, ...

Bloomberg Bahrain hired investment bank Lazard Ltd. to advise on how to repair its strained public finances, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the island kingdom seeks to secure crucial support from rich neighbors to avoid a currency devaluation. Lazard is helping Bahrain evaluate fiscal reforms to help ease pressure on the state’s budget, the people said, ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank is caught in a bind, as it seeks to tighten monetary policy for some parts of the economy while loosening it for others. Already engaged in the mammoth task of wringing bad debts out of China’s $40 trillion-plus financial system, the People’s Bank of China is now attempting to achieve that while simultaneously being asked to ...

Bloomberg Just 20 banks have applied for a license to operate in the European Union in time to receive approval before Britain leaves the bloc. The European Central Bank has talked with 50 financial companies exploring options to retain the so-called passport that grants them access to one of the world’s largest economies, said Pentti Hakkarainen, a member of its ...

Bloomberg The UK Serious Fraud Office has dropped a criminal investigation into Lloyds Banking Group Plc and its former traders over Libor rigging, according to a newspaper report. Investigators concluded there was insufficient evidence to take the matter further in respect of former traders and the bank, The Times reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The SFO has ...

Bloomberg Two top Chinese central bank officials vowed to keep the yuan stable on Tuesday, stoking speculation that policy makers are prepared to take tougher actions to arrest the plunge in the currency. Using standard language to describe the stance on the currency, People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang said China will “keep the yuan exchange rate basically stable ...

Bloomberg The South African Reserve Bank has written to the National Credit Regulator requesting a probe into loan- origination fees charged by Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd., according to a person familiar with the matter. The referral came after the issue was raised in a report by short-seller Viceroy Research in January, said the person, asking not to be identified because ...

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA is acquiring the Commerzbank AG business that includes the German lender’s exchange-traded products and market-making operations as it seeks expansion in Europe’s largest economy. The French bank will take over investments products, flow products and asset management businesses based in Frankfurt, London, Paris, Hong Kong and Zurich, according to an e-mailed statement on Tuesday. While it ...

Bloomberg Philippine central bank Governor Nestor Espenilla faces mounting challenges as he begins his second year in office. The 59-year-old central banker is set to miss his inflation target, the peso is wallowing near a 12-year low, and he is facing criticism he took too long to raise interest rates. He ends the first year of his six-year term in ...