Banking

DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom’s largest lender, reported an 11.8 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, helped by a drop in expenses and lower impairment charges. The bank made a net profit of 2.56 billion riyals ($683 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, up from 2.29 billion riyals in the same period ...

Bloomberg The abrupt selloff on global markets is happening as investors pull out of emerging markets at the fastest pace since the 2016 US presidential election. The withdrawal, largest in Asian countries, is a reminder that even as the region fuels the world economy’s best performance in years, it remains vulnerable to the whims of market sentiment. It could also ...

Bloomberg The biggest market sell-off in more than six years isn’t denting BNP Paribas SA’s confidence, with the French bank saying that it may exceed its 2020 profitability target as Europe’s economic expansion takes hold. An improving interest-rate environment is likely to support growth, France’s largest lender said as it reported fourth-quarter profit and trading results mostly in line with ...

Bloomberg There is a “strong case” for authorities to rein in digital currencies because of their links to the established financial system, Bank for International Settlements General Manager Agustin Carstens said. In his first major public speech as head of the Basel, Switzerland-based institution, Carstens argued that central banks — along with finance ministries, tax offices and financial market regulators ...

Bloomberg The Bank of England’s (BoE) first policy meeting of the year is also the first test of the market’s newly aggressive interest-rate forecasts that emerged in recent weeks. Investors have ramped up bets that the follow-up to November’s tightening — the first in a decade — will come as soon as May, and economists in the latest Bloomberg survey ...

Bloomberg Australia is emerging as an outlier in the developed-world story of faster economic growth and inflation, pushing the central bank to the sidelines as flat wages and a strengthening currency keep prices in check. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe and his board will keep interest rates unchanged at a record low for an 18th month at Tuesday’s ...

SYDNEY / Reuters The government of Uganda has approved regulations covering Islamic banking with the central bank expecting to publish them soon as part of wider efforts to boost financial inclusion in the East African country. Once the regulations are gazetted, the central bank would be open for applications from financial institutions to offer sharia-compliant products, Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile said ...

Bloomberg The worst may be over for Singapore’s three biggest banks. A stronger economy, higher interest rates and rising wealth is expected to boost income at DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and United Overseas Bank Ltd. After several quarters hit by bad loans, a Bloomberg survey shows they’re poised to post double-digit profit growth for the three months ...

Bloomberg As economists ponder how much additional growth is in store for the US economy following the implementation of President Donald Trump’s wide-reaching tax reform, the European Central Bank says the consequences for its own jurisdiction “are highly uncertain and complex.” The tax burden on US corporate income will fall significantly to a level close to that in a number ...

Bloomberg New York isn’t going to let Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. slip out of its regulatory oversight without fighting back. The state’s banking regulator, Maria Vullo, said in a legal filing that the Tokyo lender’s request last year to shift regulators — trading its state license for a federal one — was granted arbitrarily and unlawfully. Accusing the bank ...