Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates NBD Capital Limited (EMCAP), the investment banking division of Emirates NBD PJSC, one of the largest banking groups in the Middle East by assets, has successfully completed its role in the landmark IPO of ENBD REIT, which admitted shares to trading on Nasdaq Dubai on March 23. EMCAP acted as Listing Advisor to ENBD ...
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Junk rating puts S Africa banks’ profit at risk
Bloomberg South Africa’s banking index fell to the lowest in six months after S&P Global Ratings cut the sovereign’s foreign-currency debt rating to junk, increasing the likelihood that lenders will have to battle declining returns and rising bad debts in the year ahead. South Africa’s six-member banks index, which includes Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Barclays Africa Group Ltd., ...
Read More »Credit Suisse probe puts Swiss officials on back foot again
Bloomberg The latest probe into Credit Suisse Group AG is a blow, not just for the firm but also for the Swiss attorney general, who didn’t know some of the bank’s offices were going to be raided. It’s too early to tell whether the Credit Suisse accounts being investigated are older, or include some that are more recent as ...
Read More »ECB to see Italy’s Vicenza, Veneto banks as solvent
Bloomberg The European Central Bank estimates Banca Popolare di Vicenza SpA and Veneto Banca SpA need about 6.4 billion euros ($6.8 billion) and considers the lenders solvent, a condition for them to receive a bailout, according to people familiar with the matter. Representatives of the ECB, the European Commission and the Italian Treasury reviewed the banks’ request for a ...
Read More »UK seeks to kill foreign bank rule as Brexit snare looms
Bloomberg The UK is trying to kill a planned European Union rule for foreign banks that will become crucial for its own lenders after Brexit. Teaming up with Luxembourg, a host for many foreign banks’ EU units, London declared its opposition to plans to force banks from outside the bloc to consolidate their activities under a single entity, according ...
Read More »Credit Suisse taken by surprise in five-nation tax probe
Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG and its home country of Switzerland were surprised by a tax evasion and money laundering investigation that spans five countries from Australia to the UK and potentially involves thousands of account holders. Two people were arrested by Dutch authorities, who also seized a gold bar, paintings and jewelry and are still probing dozens more ...
Read More »PBOC raises interest rates on SLF loans
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 ...
Read More »Deutsche Bank eyes new home lending
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 ...
Read More »Citi applies for capital markets licence in Saudi Arabia
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 ...
Read More »Bank of England reviews consumer credit surge as Citi warns of ‘bubble’
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 ...
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