Banking

Norway central bank raises key borrowing rate

  Bloomberg Norway’s central bank raised borrowing costs to the highest level in more than a decade, and signaled it still plans to hike its key interest rate to 3% at the beginning of next year even as the Nordic country faces a recession. Norges Bank lifted its key deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, the highest level ...

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Swiss central bank slows rate hiking with half-point move

  Bloomberg The Swiss National Bank (SNB) raised its interest rate by 50 basis points, a third salvo against inflation that narrows the gap with the borrowing costs of global peers. Officials raised the benchmark to 1%, as predicted by a majority of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Further increases can’t be ruled out, the central bank said. “There is a ...

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PBOC injects more liquidity amid bond market turmoil

  Bloomberg China’s central bank pumped more cash than forecast into the banking system in December, in a move that’s expected to bolster bonds roiled by the nation’s abrupt Covid policy shift. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) injected 650 billion yuan ($94 billion) via its one-year medium-term lending facility, more than the 500 billion yuan due this month. Five ...

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HSBC, StanChart raise main lending rates in Hong Kong

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are raising their main lending rates in Hong Kong for the third time this year, a move that signals higher borrowing costs for property owners amid a real estate and economic downturn. HSBC, the city’s biggest lender, is boosting its prime rate by 25 basis points to 5.625%. The move came ...

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Danske Bank pleads guilty to US fraud, to forfeit $2bn

Bloomberg Danske Bank A/S admitted to fraud and will pay $2 billion to end a long-running US probe into money laundering at its Estonia branch, helping draw a line under the worst scandal in the bank’s recent history. The Danish lender pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud and admitted providing banking services to suspicious customers — including in ...

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ECB to allow its staff remote work for 110 days per year

Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will let staff work remotely for 110 days a year — roughly half their time. The rules, which take effect from January 1, permit as many as 10 days a month away from desks. That’s stricter than the current system, under which employees must show up at the office at least eight days a ...

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Indian rupee’s most appealing trait for traders deteriorates

Bloomberg The Indian rupee’s most appealing trait for traders is fast deteriorating, helping turn the currency into emerging Asia’s worst performer over the past month. Twelve-month implied rupee yields — typically a reflection of interest rate differentials with the US — fell to the lowest since 2009. That’s bad news for carry traders, who seek profits from capturing the difference ...

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RBA’s Lowe urges banks to cut cost of payments

  Bloomberg Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe called on the nation’s lenders to intensify efforts to reduce the cost of payments and increase their speed, including for cross-border transactions. “Slow progress by the major banks imposes a cost on the rest of the industry,” Lowe said in a speech, referring to delays in launching a direct-debit service ...

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Japan’s MUFG in talks to invest $200m in Akulaku

  Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc is in talks to invest about $200 million in Akulaku Inc, an Indonesian online lender backed by Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co, according to people familiar with the matter. MUFG, as Japan’s biggest lender is known, is negotiating the terms of a potential financing for Akulaku as it seeks to expand its presence ...

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Citigroup ECM banker departs after 20 years

  Bloomberg Luis Esguevillas, a senior equity capital markets (ECM) banker at Citigroup Inc. in Europe, is leaving the bank after almost 20 years. Citigroup announced his departure in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. During his time at the bank, London-based Esguevillas led its ECM business in regions including Iberia, Italy, France and South Africa. Prior to joining ...

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