Bloomberg Asia’s swelling ranks of mega-wealthy are proving to be a mixed blessing for Morgan Stanley. The firm’s Asian private banking unit has boosted assets under management and revenue this year, according to Vincent Chui, who oversees the business. But because top bankers keep getting poached by family offices set up by the richest people, a plan to increase headcount ...
Read More »Banking
Brexit-hit banks set to start moving staff abroad by 2018
Bloomberg UK politicians are fighting to get a deal early next year that will ease businesses’ panic about Brexit. For some industries, it’s probably too late. Barring some major breakthrough, global banks will implement their relocation plans early next year to guarantee they’re able to have new offices inside the European Union running by the time the UK exits, people ...
Read More »European Central Bank likely to take small steps in QE exit guidance
Bloomberg The European Central Bank is likely to make multiple small adjustments to its guidance on monetary policy next year rather than any major change in language as it ends quantitative easing, according to euro-area officials familiar with the thinking of policy makers. Incremental shifts in the wording used to describe the expected path of its policy would make sense ...
Read More »Citi, BNP Paribas seen as less risky in global regulators’ ranking of banks
Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. and BNP Paribas SA dropped in global regulators’ ranking of banks that pose the biggest threat to the financial system, and authorities recommended they face lower capital surcharges. Citigroup fell one level in the ranking, meaning its extra capital requirement under international standards will be 2 percent of risk-weighted assets, according to the Financial Stability Board’s latest ...
Read More »Bidvest Bank keen to boost financial services offering
Bloomberg Bidvest Group Ltd.’s banking unit agreed to buy FinGlobal, a provider of financial services to South Africans living outside the country, as part of an acquisition drive to expand and diversify its business. Bidvest Bank will fund the purchase out of its 2 billion rand ($142 million) in cash reserves, Managing Director Japie van Niekerk said by phone on ...
Read More »RBA’s Lowe sees rates rising as patience pays off
Bloomberg Australia’s central bank chief said interest rates will likely rise eventually as policy makers’ patience is finally rewarded with unemployment falling sufficiently to spur wage growth and faster inflation. “We’re not too far away from 2 percent and I think we’ll get there, we’re just not getting there as quickly as we would like to,†Governor Philip Lowe said ...
Read More »Brexit brings EBA down from London high-rises
Bloomberg The European Banking Authority gets a new home, as Brexit forces the regulator and its 180 employees to abandon their high-rise digs in London’s Canary Wharf financial district and relocate to the continent. Eight cities are competing to host the EBA. The prestige of housing the EU’s top banking regulator could lend some extra gloss to major euro-area financial ...
Read More »Carige investors agree to back share sale key to bank’s survival
Bloomberg Banca Carige SpA reached agreement with a group of banks to underwrite a share sale of about 500 million euros ($590 million) after key investors pledged their support, allowing the lender to proceed with its restructuring plan. Malacalza Investimenti, Carige’s main investor, agreed to buy 17.6 percent of the stock, while the second-biggest shareholder Gabriele Volpi agreed to oversubscribe ...
Read More »Turkey central bank move fails to stem lira’s slide on politics
Bloomberg Traders were unimpressed with the Turkish central bank’s latest attempt to support the lira, which is wobbling amid concern about the fallout from a US court case, tension with NATO, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new calls for lower interest rates. While the lira jumped as much as 1.4 percent in thin Asia trading to touch a high of ...
Read More »Brazil’s Bradesco says election won’t spoil 4 percent credit growth
Bloomberg It’s taken longer than expected, but total bank lending in Brazil is primed to bounce back from its recession-induced slump. Even as the country heads into an uncertain election, the banking industry’s credit prospects in 2018 are bright, according to Banco Bradesco SA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Luiz Carlos Trabuco Cappi. That is, as long as the economy ...
Read More »