Banking

Bloomberg When China allowed banks to use 700 billion yuan ($108 billion) more of their deposits, they were very clear on where the money should go. One sector not mentioned was the overheating property market. Money freed up from previous cuts may have ended up flowing into the housing market, and the design of this new policy seems aimed at ...

Bloomberg Central banks should accept that reversing crisis-era monetary policy will be “bumpy” and shouldn’t delay doing so just for fear of upsetting financial markets, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Claudio Borio, who heads the institution’s economics department, urged policy makers to press ahead, both to address financial stability risks and to insulate their economies against the next ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley are imploring investors not to get spooked. The investment banks had the two lowest capital levels by one key measure in stress test results released by the Federal Reserve, threatening to limit how much cash they’ll be able to return to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. But both firms say they ...

Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to sell its stake in Saudi Investment Bank back to the Riyadh-based lender at a 24 percent discount as it exits non-core holdings globally. Saudi Investment Bank signed an agreement to buy the 7.5 percent stake, which JPMorgan held for more than 40 years, for $203 million, according to a statement on Sunday. The ...

Bloomberg The European Central Bank is expecting to plow at least 160 billion euros ($185 billion) of maturing debt back into bonds next year and could consider relaxing the rules on buying, according to euro-area officials familiar with the matter. Such prospects would reduce the risk of market volatility that could undermine the economy after the ECB completes net asset ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank will cut the amount of cash some lenders must hold as reserves, unlocking about 700 billion yuan ($108 billion) of liquidity, as it seeks to control leverage and support smaller companies. The required reserve ratio for some banks will drop by 0.5 percentage point, effective July 5, the People’s Bank of China said on its website. ...

Bloomberg Bank of Montreal is revamping its US digital operation and targeting small businesses in the Midwest to boost growth at its BMO Harris Bank lender. The new US strategy, which emphasises mobile apps to woo more retail customers, is part of the changes being introduced by Erminia “Ernie” Johannson, who relocated to Chicago from Toronto after being appointed group ...

Bloomberg Big banks cleared the first hurdle of this year’s US stress tests as the Federal Reserve found all 35 lenders examined could withstand a severe economic downturn, though Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trailed the rest of Wall Street in a key measure of leverage. The results announced mark the third straight year every bank exceeded the Fed’s minimum capital ...

Bloomberg An ex-Deutsche Bank AG banker told a Milan court that the controversial Santorini transaction signed with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA was a risky deal for the German bank and was properly accounted for by the Italian lender, challenging the prosecution’s case. Marco Veroni, the first Deutsche Bank defendant questioned by prosecutors at the Milan trial, disputed ...

Bloomberg Mark Carney’s Bank of England has new powers that allow it to raise a war chest of more than 750 billion pounds ($1 trillion) — without permission or protection from the government. Under a new financial framework, the bank could unilaterally lend more than that amount if it needs to step into action to keep the banking system — ...