Banking

  Bloomberg China’s central bank raised interest rates for standing lending facility loans (SLF), aimed mainly at small- and medium-sized financial institutions, it announced on Saturday. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) increased the rate for overnight SLF loans by 0.2 percentage points to 3.3 percent effective from March 16, it said in a statement on its website. The bank ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG is finding that there just isn’t enough soured US mortgage debt anymore. The German bank needs the stuff, after agreeing to provide $4.1 billion of relief to borrowers as part of a larger legal settlement with the US. It’s already been planning to finance fund managers that would in turn buy underwater mortgages and ease their ...

  KHOBAR / DUBAI / Reuters Citigroup has formally applied for a licence to conduct capital markets business in Saudi Arabia, two sources familiar with the matter said, in a move to return to the country after an absence of nearly 13 years. The application has been made with Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA), whose primary role is to ...

  Bloomberg UK regulators are starting a review into consumer borrowing after the Bank of England warned again about a potentially unsustainable buildup of debt. In a statement on Monday after its quarterly meeting, the BOE’s Financial Policy Committee said household indebtedness “remains high by historical standards and has begun to rise relative to incomes.” Noting that consumer credit has ...

  DUBAI / Reuters Oman’s central bank signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian central bank to strengthen financial and economic cooperation between the two countries, the Omani institution said. It did not give details of the cooperation, but said the agreement would boost bilateral trade and include training for Iranian central bankers. Worried by the threat of U.S. ...

  Bloomberg Central banks did their best to fight deflation. Now a Polish policy maker wants his government to step up as prices are making a comeback. As the National Bank of Poland comes under pressure to act in response to a rebound in price growth, Jerzy Osiatynski counters that it “has no monopoly on fighting inflation.” Higher wages raise ...

  DUBAI / Emirates Business Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, celebrated the launch of Panin Dubai Syariah Bank in Indonesia, in the presence of DIB Group CEO Dr Adnan Chilwan, key local officials including Muliaman D. Hadad, Chief Commissioner OJK, Dr KH Ma’ruf Amin, Chief of the Indonesia Ulama Council, Hamlim Alamsyah, Chief Commissioner ...

  DUBAI / FRANKFURT / Reuters Deutsche Bank is to stop clearing cheques denominated in euros for some banks in the Middle East, according to sources familiar with the matter, joining other big banks that cut services in the region. Cheque usage globally has been on the wane as consumers and businesses turn to faster, digital payment alternatives and in ...

  Bloomberg Ghana’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate for a second time in four months as the cedi recovered from record lows and inflation slowed to the lowest rate in more than three years. The Bank of Ghana cut the rate to 23.5 percent from 25.5 percent, Governor Abdul Nashiru Issahaku told reporters on Monday in the capital, ...

  Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is in preliminary talks for an equities license in Saudi Arabia as the US lender seeks to take advantage of the country’s economic reforms, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank has yet to file a formal application, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. While ...