Banking

  Emirates Business For the nine months ended September 30, the net profit of Qatar National Bank reached $2.7 billion, up by 11% compared to last year. Total assets reached $196 billion, up by 37% from September 2015, the highest ever achieved by the Group. QNB Group completed the acquisition of 99.88% stake in Finansbank A.S. – Turkey, during the ...

  Moscow / AFP Russia’s VTB Bank on Tuesday said it was considering relocating the London office of its investment banking division over Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. “Relocating from London or maintaining our presence there will depend on how Brexit unfolds,” the group said in a statement. “Due to Brexit, VTB will be adjusting its activities in ...

  Bloomberg Many Latvians got a shock this summer when they were informed their bank accounts risked being blocked if they didn’t hand over details of their citizenship, financial plans and any ties to high-level politics. Demands to fill out online questionnaires were dispatched by lenders at the behest of financial regulators, who’ve been battling the Baltic nation’s reputation as ...

Bloomberg China released guidelines for reducing corporate debt while also saying that the government won’t bear the final responsibility for borrowing by companies, the latest sign that policy makers are stepping up their fight against excessive leverage. The State Council, China’s cabinet, issued guidelines for reducing corporate debt and for how banks may swap bad debt to equity. At the ...

  Bloomberg The European Union has threatened to go rogue in talks on bank capital rules, and the bloc’s willingness to go its own way could undermine global standards intended to avert a new financial crisis. Top EU policy makers have made clear that sweeping changes are needed before the EU will accept a capital-rule revamp under way at the ...

  Bloomberg Nigeria’s banking industry is experiencing a “full blown financial crisis” as failed fiscal and monetary policies lead to a credit crunch, according to Arqaam Capital. Unity Bank Plc and Skye Bank Plc are close to being insolvent while lenders FBN Holdings Plc and Sterling Bank Plc “will need a dilutive capital hike,” Jaap Meijer and Tarek Sleiman, analysts ...

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc has stepped up its hiring from Barclays Plc’s private-banking team in Hong Kong ahead of the transfer of the business to Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., in a move that underscores the stiff competition for wealth managers in Asia. More than 10 Barclays relationship managers in Hong Kong are joining Standard Chartered, which is expanding its wealth ...

  Bloomberg Itau Unibanco Holding SA, Latin America’s largest bank by market value, agreed to buy Citigroup Inc.’s retail-banking business in Brazil for 710 million reais ($220 million), taking over operations that the US company has maintained in the country for more than 100 years. The purchase includes Citi’s 71 branches in the South American country as well as its ...

  Bloomberg As the price of oil stays stubbornly low, investors in the Middle East are turning to deals. Mergers and acquisitions activity in the Gulf region is set to accelerate as lower oil prices force governments and corporations to consolidate fragmented industries, according to Bank of America Corp. (BofA) “The drop in oil prices has made people in the ...

  Bloomberg Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd. expects to end its five-year dividend drought in early 2017 as it’s “very close” to clearing the main regulatory hurdle standing in its way, Chief Executive Officer Rakefet Russak-Aminoach said. The Bank of Israel requires lenders to meet a Tier 1 capital ratio of 10.25 percent by Jan. 1. The Tier 1 ratio is ...