Banking

Bloomberg China’s central bank said it will step up coordinated oversight of systemically important financial institutions, another step toward defusing risk before a gathering of the country’s top leaders later this year. The People’s Bank of China also said it will limit the flow of credit to speculative housing purchases and monitor how global markets are affecting funding in the …

Bloomberg The Bank of England will strengthen its conflict-of-interest checks as part of its response to the controversy surrounding the resignation of former Deputy Governor Charlotte Hogg after just weeks in the role. Clarity about conflict-approval processes will be improved after a review found ambiguities in BOE policies as well as shortcomings in its systems that heightened the risk of …

Bloomberg UBS Group AG has brought David Chin out of retirement to run its investment bank in Asia, as it seeks to stem a wave of defections of China-focused bankers. Chin will become UBS’s head of corporate client solutions for the Asia-Pacific region, replacing Sam Kendall, who will relocate to New York as head of global equity capital markets, according …

DUBAI / Reuters HSBC is planning to add staff to its Saudi Arabian operations as the kingdom embarks on one of the biggest economic transformations attempted by any country, the bank’s regional chief Georges Elhedery told Reuters. Opportunities for investment banks have increased tremendously due to Vision 2030, the reform programme launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to diversify …

Bloomberg A decade ago, the European Central Bank took its first step to becoming the euro area’s firefighter-in-chief. Its $112 billion emergency loan to banks on Aug. 9, 2007, was the initial response to a financial crisis that would force the Frankfurt-based institution to expand its balance sheet by trillions of euros. The ECB — together with international peers such …

Bloomberg Commonwealth Bank of Australia reported its eighth consecutive year of record profit, driven by growth in mortgage and business lending. Cash profit, which excludes one-time items, rose 4.6 percent to A$9.88 billion ($7.8 billion) in the 12 months ended June 30, from A$9.45 billion a year earlier, the Sydney-based lender said in a filing Wednesday. That compares with the …

Bloomberg Mizuho Financial Group Inc. wants to grow its business managing overseas corporate money by $100 billion this fiscal year, as it seeks new ways to boost international earnings at a time of negative interest rates at home. “We’re expanding with a focus on the cross-border transactions of non-Japanese corporations doing business in Asia,” Zenichi Tanakamaru, a senior vice president …

Bloomberg The Bank of England presented a fresh downbeat assessment of the UK economy, highlighting slower consumer spending and weak wage growth, reinforcing the view that an interest-rate increase is far from imminent. A report by the BOE’s regional agents published on Wednesday said that the initial impact of the weaker pound on prices may be almost done, goods-price inflation …

Bloomberg A gain from selling Asian private-banking assets and an expanding Dutch economy helped ABN Amro Group NV reinforce its capital position and more than double quarterly profit. Net income in the three months through June rose to $1.13 billion from 391 million euros a year earlier, the Amsterdam-based bank said on Wednesday. That beat the 762 million-euro average estimate …

Bloomberg Delivering yet another jolt to Russia’s central bank, last month brought a new surprise after an inflationary shock in June. The unexpected reading in the consumer-price index pushed it below the Bank of Russia’s target of 4 percent months ahead of a year-end deadline, as a surge in food costs fizzled out. But when it comes to the direction …