Banking

Reuters Bahrain may need to raise its market interest rates to protect its currency and must refrain from having its central bank lend money to cover the government’s budget deficit, the International Monetary Fund said. In a statement released after annual consultations with the Bahraini government, the IMF repeated earlier warnings that more steps by Bahrain to cut its deficit ...

Bloomberg Financial chatbots are all the rage these days. TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. is the latest in a string of firms seeking to make it possible for customers and prospective clients to ask a robot their most burning financial questions. In a partnership with Facebook Inc. announced on Tuesday, users of the tech giant’s Messenger service will be able to ...

Bloomberg A foreign exchange front-running scheme at HSBC Holdings Plc may have involved at least 11 bank employees beyond the two executives who have been charged with crimes, a prosecutor said. Mark Johnson, HSBC’s global head of foreign exchange cash trading in London, is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 18 in New York, accused of illegally using his knowledge ...

Bloomberg As the world’s top central bankers gather in Wyoming this week, their relief about a stronger global economy will be tempered by a growing unease that inflation remains inexplicably low. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will be among the officials addressing this year’s installment of the annual conference hosted by the Kansas ...

Bloomberg Chinese banks’ leverage fell for the first time in seven years as the government’s campaign to curb risks in the $40 trillion financial system started to bite. The balances of both interbank assets and liabilities at the end of June declined by 1.8 trillion yuan ($270 billion) from the beginning of the year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission disclosed ...

Reuters Goldman Sachs received approval to trade equities in Saudi Arabia, joining the growing band of western investment banks and fund managers expanding in the kingdom. Western financial institutions have been looking to tap new opportunities in Saudi Arabia since the government unveiled plans for oil giant Saudi Aramco’s $100 billion initial public offering and introduced reforms to attract foreign ...

Bloomberg Oakbay Investments, the company controlled by the Gupta family that’s having its last bank accounts closed, agreed to sell its South African media interests to management and an ally of the friends of President Jacob Zuma. Oakbay will get $23 million for Infinity Media, which operates news channel ANN7, and 150 million rand for its two-thirds stake in the ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc., seeking a rebound in its commodities business after a bout of losing trades dented earnings, has a plan built around hiring fresh stars and luring new clients. The bank will bring in a few high-profile commodities salesmen as well as some traders, an acknowledgment that the roughly 180-person unit’s performance has suffered in recent years ...

Bloomberg On the banks of Dublin’s River Liffey, a row over the destination of London bankers fleeing Brexit is brewing. Now operating out of the office tower which came to symbolise Ireland’s financial crash, the nation’s central bank is battling political and industry pressure to do more to draw firms. Companies ranging from Lloyd’s of London to Morgan Stanley have ...

Bloomberg Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and grocery chain Loblaw Cos. are ending their 19-year President’s Choice Financial partnership as the country’s fifth-largest lender starts its own digital bank. Simplii Financial will offer no-fee banking, mortgages and loans online and by phone, according to Mike Boluch, CIBC’s executive vice president of direct banking, innovation and payments. CIBC expects to take ...