Banking

CAIRO/ Reuters Egypt’s central bank raised its key interest rates by 200 basis points, citing stronger economic growth and falling unemployment, confounding the expectations of economists who forecast rates were unlikely to change. At a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee, the bank hiked its overnight deposit rate to 16.75 percent from 14.75 percent and its overnight lending rate to ...

Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s (RBS) trial over its 2008 rights issue will be postponed for at least a day as investors suing the bank weigh an improved settlement offer. The bank doubled its offer as Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan staged a last-minute personal intervention, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the region, was recognised by The Higher Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (People of Determination), chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The bank was appreciated for its efforts in disability mainstreaming and initiatives that focus on the ...

Bloomberg Barclays Plc plans to recruit 100 staff for its private bank as Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley pushes to expand wealth management in key global hubs, according to a person familiar with the strategy. The bank is searching for relationship managers and administrative staff for the division serving its wealthiest clients, said the person, who asked not to be ...

Bloomberg Four of Australia’s biggest lenders gave estimates of how much Australia’s new bank levy will cost them, as they stepped up criticism of the policy and vowed again to pass on the extra charges. Westpac Banking Corp. said the levy will cost it an annual A$260 million ($194 million) after tax, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia estimated A$220 million ...

Bloomberg Momentum investing may work in commodities, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said that returns from raw materials may benefit significantly from following the strategy that’s based on backing past winners and eschewing or betting against losers. “Commodities can benefit significantly from momentum investing although the gains are neither uniform across commodities nor constant over time,” analysts including ...

Bloomberg Indian central bank Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said injecting new funds into lenders won’t resolve the nation’s stressed asset plight until companies take steps to reduce debt. The Reserve Bank of India is seeking to strengthen the banking system through measures including merging weaker banks and pushing to privatize some state-run lenders as it ramps up efforts to resolve ...

Bloomberg Angela Merkel and Wolfgang Schaeuble want to install a German at the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) when Mario Draghi’s term expires in 2 1/2 years, according to Spiegel magazine. The chancellor and her finance minister are set to push for Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann to become the fourth guardian of the single currency, arguing it’s finally ...

Bloomberg When Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen wants to change the cost of borrowing, investors have one main rate to watch. Her Chinese counterpart Zhou Xiaochuan, who’s been juggling multiple policy levers, is trying to focus market attention on just two. The People’s Bank of China said late last week that it will now mainly use seven-day reverse-repo operations and ...

Bloomberg Barclays Plc’s former head of global spot foreign exchange trading was fined $1.2 million and banned from the banking industry for his involvement in rigging currency rates, the Federal Reserve said. The Fed said it imposed the penalties after Christopher Ashton failed to respond to the central bank’s June 2016 allegations that he participated in online chat rooms used ...