Bloomberg John Flint is off to a bumpy start at HSBC Holdings Plc. Costs at Europe’s largest bank rose at a quicker pace than revenue in the first quarter and it took a surprise charge for past misconduct. HSBC also said a $2 billion share buyback would be the only one this year given the “growth opportunities,†signaling the bank ...
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Argentina boosts rate in second surprise move
Bloomberg Argentina hiked interest rates for the second time in less than a week to stem the peso’s sharp decline, a tactic that many investors say will again bring only temporary relief. The central bank raised its key interest rate to 33.25 percent, the central bank’s press office said. The peso has fallen more than 5 percent since the day ...
Read More »Demonetisation a boon for Indian private banks
Bloomberg India’s clampdown on unaccounted cash has sent a flood of money into the private banking industry, prompting a major lender to embark on a hiring binge for wealth managers. HDFC Bank Ltd — the most preferred wealth manager in India among high net worth clients surveyed by Euromoney — plans to add as many as 150 relationship managers by ...
Read More »BofA sued by DACA recipient after being denied advisory job
Bloomberg Brazilian Daniel Marques hoped to parlay his Dreamer work permit into a job with Bank of America Corp. Instead, he’s suing the firm for discrimination. Marques claims his application to work in the bank’s wealth management department was denied after he told a vice president who interviewed him in 2016 that he’d be required to renew his work authorization ...
Read More »Danske CEO apologises as money laundering scandal explodes
Bloomberg The chief executive officer of Danske Bank A/S has apologized for management’s failure to prevent criminals from using his firm to launder billions of dollars in illicit funds over several years. The apology follows an unusually harshly worded public reprimand by the financial regulator. The Danish government said management’s failings were “unforgivable†and the central bank warned that the ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank joins Wall Street exodus for view of Central Park
Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG is literally leaving Wall Street, moving its New York headquarters to midtown Manhattan as the German investment bank embarks on a broad shakeup of its US operations. The company will lease 1.1 million square feet of office space at Columbus Circle, slashing its footprint in the city by 30 percent, the head of Deutsche Bank’s Americas ...
Read More »BNP Paribas, SocGen tumble after missing rebound in trading
Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA and Societe Generale SA missed out on the trading gains that boosted earnings at some of their US and European rivals in the first quarter, sending their shares tumbling. Trading income at BNP Paribas, the largest French lender, fell 15 percent as a drop in sales from fixed-income, currencies and commodities outweighed a gain in equities, ...
Read More »BOE watchers rule out May hike
Bloomberg The Bank of England will hold off increasing interest rates next week and cut its forecasts for both growth and inflation, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Just three out of the 54 banks questioned expect a rate hike at the May 10 meeting, compared with about three-quarters of those asked last month. The survey also showed economists are ...
Read More »Fed officials stress soft ceiling on inflation goal
Bloomberg One of the Federal Reserve’s most senior officials and his incoming successor both said that overshooting the US central bank’s 2 percent inflation target for a time is nothing to worry about because the central bank has been below the goal for so long. “I’ve said it many times: being a little above 2 percent after being below 2 ...
Read More »Depositors line up for cash, clarity as Venezuela seizes top bank
Bloomberg Depositors started lining up outside Banesco Banco Universal’s branches in eastern Caracas, hoping to get cash — and answers — after Venezuela’s government seized the nation’s largest privately held bank. Half a dozen police officers carrying assault weapons stood outside the landmark emerald-glass headquarters of the institution known as Banesco after news of what authorities called a 90-day intervention ...
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