Bloomberg Bank of England policy makers are uniting behind the key message of the Inflation Report, telling investors that interest-rate increases will come quicker than officials previously expected. Ian McCafferty, seen as one of the most hawkish members of the rate-setting panel, reiterated that on LBC Radio, saying it’s likely borrowing costs will rise earlier, and to a greater extent, ...
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Credit Suisse ‘posts’ trading losses, lower capital buffer
Bloomberg In his first two years running Credit Suisse Group AG, Tidjane Thiam has been putting out fires. Today there’s still smoke. The Swiss lender is expected to report a third straight annual loss, mainly due to a 2.3 billion-franc ($2.45 billion) writedown related to a change in US tax policy at the end of last year. Even without that ...
Read More »Demographics pose biggest challenge for Asia’s central banks
Bloomberg Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda says it’s the most significant challenge facing his economy. Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol says it’ll be tougher to manage than record levels of household debt or future Federal Reserve interest-rate increases. The issue perplexing Asia’s central bankers: demographics. And making matters worse is the realisation there’s very little they can do ...
Read More »$3.6bn in hidden bad loans spotlight India bank stress
Bloomberg India’s regulator unearthed about $3.6 billion of bad loans in the books of the country’s biggest bank, amplifying questions about distress in the financial sector given underreporting by some rivals as well. State Bank of India said an audit by the central bank showed soured debt was about 232 billion rupees ($3.6 billion) higher than what the state-run lender ...
Read More »Cybersecurity heads of US banks in need of more CEO face time
Bloomberg Just 8 percent of cybersecurity heads at US financial firms report to the chief executive officer directly and more should do so to help facilitate decision-making, according to the Financial Services Information Sharing & Analysis Center. The industry group’s first-ever survey on the topic showed that 39 percent of chief information security officers report directly to the chief information ...
Read More »Australia begins probe on misconduct of nation’s banks
Bloomberg Australia’s banks, rocked by years of scandals and wrongdoing, risk having further misconduct exposed as a powerful government-appointed inquiry into the nation’s financial industry starts. The yearlong Royal Commission will examine the nation’s banks, insurers, financial services providers and pension funds, and consider whether regulators have enough power to tackle misconduct. The first public hearings will focus on allegations ...
Read More »Monte Paschi falls as restructuring far from bearing fruit
Bloomberg Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, the state-rescued Italian bank, fell in Milan trading after it reported a fourth-quarter loss on weak revenue and restructuring costs. The shares were down 2.8 percent at 3.72 euros as of 9:55 a.m. The stock, which returned to trading on October 25 after an 10-month suspension, is now valued more than 43 ...
Read More »Deutsche bank to recruit rookies in bid to revive equities unit
Bloomberg Peter Selman, hired out of retirement by Deutsche Bank AG to turn around Wall Street’s worst-hit equities business, wants to tap universities rather than rivals to do so. “We certainly have holes to fill and we’re hiring,†Selman, an ex- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner who joined the German lender in November, said in a phone interview. “But we’re ...
Read More »Bank of Italy revises 2018 GDP forecast up
Bloomberg The Bank of Italy expects the nation’s economy to expand in 2018 at the same pace as last year since monetary policy “is working†and the ongoing reduction of economic slack has strengthened confidence, Governor Ignazio Visco said. The central bank expects Italy’s gross domestic product will expand about 1.5 percent this year and should remain above 1 percent ...
Read More »Mexico raises key rate after inflation rises
Bloomberg Mexico’s central bank raised its key interest rate as expected for a second straight meeting and signalled it will prioritise the peso’s inflation implications rather than moves by the Federal Reserve for its future decisions. Banco de Mexico’s board voted unanimously to lift borrowing costs a quarter point to 7.5 percent, a move forecast by 23 of 26 economists ...
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