Banking

  Bloomberg Sweden’s central bank presented a careful analysis on potentially changing the inflation measure it aims for, highlighting in its conclusion that any switch could damage confidence in the price target. While the current consumer price index is “somewhat problematic,” policy makers found that switching the measure could create “uncertainty” and “lead to expectations that it may be replaced ...

  Bloomberg The toll on Russia’s economy leveled by high real interest rates is worth paying because of the boost to central bank credibility, according to Fitch Ratings. “It’s a short-term cost, but once you have central bank credibility, that’s clearly a long-term benefit for the economy,” Paul Gamble, a senior director at Fitch, said in an interview in Moscow ...

  Bloomberg The tyranny of distance is weighing on Australia’s banks in the U.S. bond market. The yields that dollar debt buyers demand from Australia’s largest lenders are higher than for Canadian banks with similar credit ratings, an analysis of more than 80 securities compiled by Bloomberg shows. While the two commodity-producing nations’ banks are among the developed world’s most ...

  Bloomberg Postal Savings Bank of China Co. is seeking as much as $8.1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering, which could become the world’s biggest share sale this year. The Beijing-based bank is offering 12.1 billion shares at HK$4.68 to HK$5.18 apiece, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg on Tuesday. Cornerstone investors, who commit ...

  Bloomberg Banks may face an increase of about 10 percent in their capital requirements as a result of the overhaul of risk-assessment rules under way at the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, according to Philippe Heim, chief financial officer of Societe Generale SA. The Group of 20 nations and the Basel Committee’s oversight body “want to concretely deliver reform ...

  Bloomberg Kenya’s central bank said lenders should peg their loans to its Central Bank Rate, or CBR, in line with a new law capping costs and as the International Monetary Fund warned that legislation limiting how much lenders charge for credit risks impeding access to loans. East Africa’s biggest economy has introduced restrictions on borrowing costs that set commercial ...

  FRANKFURT/ AFP The European Central Bank kept its interest rates at record lows on Thursday and held fire on more economic stimulus, but warned of “uncertainties” ahead for the eurozone over the Brexit vote. Describing the ECB’s current ultra-loose monetary policy as “effective”, bank chief Mario Draghi said policymakers stood ready to take future action if needed to push ...

  FRANKFURT/ AP The EU will not allow Britain to cling to advantages for its financial industry while blocking free movement of labour in the wake of Brexit, commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis warned on Thursday. “We cannot tolerate cherry-picking,” the Brussels financial services chief told German business daily Handelsblatt. “It’s up to the British government. If it decides not only to ...

  Bloomberg Canada’s newest bank aims to woo Chinese Canadians with high-interest savings accounts, term deposits and mortgages in the nation’s two hottest housing markets. Wealth One Bank of Canada wants to become the preferred bank for Canada’s Chinese community, said Chief Executive Officer Charles Lambert. The closely held lender, which has about 30 employees and started taking deposits in ...

  Bloomberg FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by market value, fell after full-year profit missed estimates as the company invested in an expansion on the continent and loan-impairment charges rose. Earnings excluding one-time items rose to 22.4 billion rand ($1.6 billion) in the 12 months through June from 21.1 billion rand a year earlier, Johannesburg-based FirstRand said in a statement ...