Banking

Bloomberg Ukraine’s Privatbank, which was nationalised last year, said a UK court froze $2.5 billion of its ex-owners’ assets as the government seeks to recoup its bailout of the nation’s No. 1 lender. Justice Christopher Nugee in the UK High Court granted a worldwide freezing order against billionaires Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov, including six companies they’re believed to own ...

BENGHAZI / Reuters Libya’s eastern-based parliament approved a new central bank governor on Tuesday, deputies said, cementing financial divisions as the country grapples with political turmoil and economic crisis. Libya, an oil producer, has two governments as a result of a power struggle waged since the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 — a UN-backed government in Tri-poli and an ...

Bloomberg Talk to bankers in Miami who manage the fortunes of Latin Americans and they’ll tell you how hard they’re working to improve compliance with “know-your-customer” rules in the wake of corruption, tax-evasion and money-laundering scandals. The effort required to vet wealthy individuals from outside the US can be so intensive that banks are increasing minimum investment amounts for prospective ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. expects to take a roughly $3 billion hit to fourth-quarter net income after the US tax bill slashed corporate rates. The reduction is “primarily” from a lower value of net deferred tax assets, according to a filing by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm. So-called DTAs pile up in cases where a company loses money and ...

Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank bought a 90 percent stake in Landqart AG, bailing out the sole producer of the material on which its paper money is printed. The acquisition is aimed at saving Landqart, which the SNB said was facing a liquidity shortage and a “direct and existential threat.” The central bank also said the move ensures “continued supply ...

Emirates Business The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), a multilateral financial institution established by African governments and institutional investors, have signed a $100-million agreement and a EUR 50-million Murabaha agreement with the aim of facilitating and financing exports amongst African countries and between Africa and ...

Bloomberg A Chinese central bank official said China should allow local governments to go bankrupt to help rein in regional authorities’ excessive borrowing. A case like the bankruptcy of Detroit would convince investors that the central government is really determined to dispel beliefs of an implicit guarantee for regional authorities, Xu Zhong, head of research bureau at the People’s Bank ...

Bloomberg Almost nine years since the birth of bitcoin, central banks around the world are increasingly recognising the potential upsides and downsides of digital currencies. The guardians of the global economy have two sets of issues to address. First is what to do, if anything, about the emergence and growth of the private cryptocurrencies that are grabbing more and more ...

Bloomberg The day after the European Union’s chief negotiator warned that there could be no special deal for Britain’s finance sector, the UK sent a message back: You need our banks as much as they need you. “The City of London is actually the banker for Europe,” Prime Minister Theresa May told a parliamentary committee. “It’s a significant provider of ...

Bloomberg The Czech Republic is set to leave further interest-rate increases until next year as a slowdown in inflation sidelines calls from some within the central bank to raise borrowing costs more aggressively. After raising its benchmark rate in August and November to cool price growth in one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies, the central bank will hold it at 0.5 ...