Banking

Bloomberg China’s banking regulator pledged to continue its crackdown on malpractice in the $38 trillion industry in 2018, vowing to tackle everything from poor corporate governance and violation of lending policies to cross-holdings of risky financial products. The China Banking Regulatory Commission unveiled its regulatory priorities for the year in a statement. They include: Inspecting the funding source of banks’ ...

Bloomberg India should make it easier for new banks to open in the South Asian nation, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. The Reserve Bank of India could consider easing rules for allocation of permits, including an initial capital requirement of 5 billion rupees ($79 million) and so-called priority sector lending targets, which include loans to farmers ...

Bloomberg The pound has hit the highest level since the Brexit vote in 2016, yet JPMorgan Chase & Co. remains relatively glum on its prospects. While recent Brexit developments have been constructive, the bank sees sterling failing to maintain its strength amid flagging economic fundamentals and a “non-negligible risk” that Brexit talks collapse. It sees the pound falling to $1.30 ...

Bloomberg Germany’s central bank has decided to include the Chinese yuan in its own reserves, in a further boost to the international status of the currency. Speaking at an event in Hong Kong on Monday, Bundesbank board member Andreas Dombret said the decision was taken last year following an investment of 500 million euros ($611 million) by the European Central ...

Bloomberg Morocco will loosen its currency peg in a long-awaited move aimed at strengthening its economy and avoiding financial imbalances that forced a slew of emerging nations into sharp devaluations. Bank al-Maghrib, as the central bank is known, will allow the dirham to fluctuate 2.5 percent above or below its official rate, significantly widening the band from 0.3 percent each ...

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. isn’t giving up its mortgage-lending crown without a fight. The bank wants to hold on to its top spot as the whale of the $1.7 billion industry in the US, even as it predicts profit margins on making home loans will shrink this year and it faces pressure from rival Quicken Loans Inc. “We want ...

Bloomberg Canada’s financial watchdog plans to revise capital requirements for the nation’s banks, drafting more risk-sensitive interim rules while moving faster towards adopting new criteria set by global regulators. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ Carolyn Rogers announced the changes during a speech at a conference hosted by RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. She said Canadian banks would ...

Bloomberg Japan’s economy will exceed growth forecasts this year, prompting the central bank to tighten monetary policy by mid-year, said Allen Sinai, president of Decision Economics Inc. Sinai said he expects Japan’s economy to grow 2 percent in 2018, and even faster in 2019, perhaps as much as 2.5 percent. “What has snuck up on everybody is the world business ...

Bloomberg Morocco will adopt a more flexible exchange rate from Monday as part of a long-awaited plan aimed at boosting the competitiveness of the North African nation’s economy. Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s central bank, said in a statement it would widen the official band within which the dirham fluctuates to 5 percent, with a maximum daily moves of 2.5 percent above ...

Bloomberg The Philippine central bank is beefing up its data tools to get a better handle on a fast-growing economy, which is starting to flash warning signs because of a rapid buildup of debt. Like central banks across Southeast Asia, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is pushing to capture information from “big data,” drawn from sources such as online search engines, ...