Banking

Bloomberg The Bank of Japan left its massive monetary stimulus program unchanged even as it trimmed its inflation forecasts, signaling further divergence ahead from its global peers. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and the board voted on Tuesday to maintain the central bank’s yield curve control program and asset purchases, a result predicted by all 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The vote …

Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA couldn’t avoid the trading slump that dragged down results at its biggest US and European competitors in the third quarter, as low interest rates and tepid demand from clients curbed activity. Income from trading bonds, currencies and commodities at BNP fell 26 percent to 801 million euros ($932 million) from a year earlier, based on figures …

Bloomberg Bank of China Ltd. shares slumped the most in almost four months in Hong Kong after the lender failed to report the same improvements in asset quality as its rivals. The stock lost 3.2 percent to HK$3.90 as of 11:16 a.m. local time, paring its rally this year to 13 percent. Bocom International Holdings Co. and Huatai Securities Co. …

Bloomberg PT Bank Central Asia is seeking to buy a mid-size lender as intensifying competition and a sluggish Indonesian economy prompt some owners to consider exiting the industry, according to the firm’s top executive. Southeast Asia’s largest lender by market value after DBS Group Holdings Ltd. has set aside about 4 trillion rupiah ($295 million) this year to finance an …

Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc’s $100 billion bet on Asia is bearing fruit, driving its third consecutive increase in quarterly revenue just months before Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver hands the reins to John Flint. Asia posted the biggest revenue gain among of the bank’s five regions, helping it report higher-than-expected third-quarter adjusted revenue of $13 billion. During the period, HSBC …

Bloomberg China’s largest banks posted double-digit increases in lending income in the third quarter, validating some of the earnings optimism that has fueled a rally in their shares this year. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Bank of China Ltd. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. on Monday reported average net interest income gains of 15 percent. The figures …

Bloomberg The 6,000 job cuts announced last week at Nordea Bank AB are just a down payment for an industry facing radical overhaul, says Chief Executive Officer Casper von Koskull. “If somebody says, where are we, or where are banks, 10 years from now, banks could easily have half what they have today,” in terms of personnel, von Koskull said …

Bloomberg The Bank of England may increase interest rates this week for the first time in more than a decade, but that won’t be enough to buoy the pound, according to strategists. Markets almost fully price in a 25-basis-point increase in the BOE’s key rate on Thursday, meaning investors are ill-prepared for a disappointment. Should Governor Mark Carney and fellow …

Bloomberg China’s ambitious $55 billion infrastructure project that’s underway throughout Pakistan is in danger of becoming a non-event for the South Asian nation’s banks. President Xi Jinping’s multi-billion dollar economic corridor, part of his ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, has been viewed as a game-changer for Pakistan. Yet while local banks are keenly waiting to get their share of the pie, …

Bloomberg UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti is reviving investors’ expectations for a share buyback after the bank’s capital buffers rebounded and profit increased. The bank’s CET1 capital ratio rose to 13.7 percent in the three months through September, up from 13.5 percent in the second quarter. UBS has pledged to return at least half its net profit …