Banking

  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 ...

  Bloomberg US prosecutors are considering a criminal charge against a unit of HSBC Holdings Plc related to conduct on its foreign-exchange desk, according to two people familiar with the matter, imperiling an earlier deal that let the bank avoid prosecution. The Justice Department has already charged two people who were on the bank’s foreign-exchange desk with improper trading and ...

  Bloomberg The Chinese bank with the biggest branch network in the country is pigging out on capital. Not only does Postal Savings Bank of China hope to scoop up at least $8 billion in an initial public offering this month in Hong Kong, it also plans to raise almost as much money by selling Tier 2 securities. Postal Savings ...

  Bloomberg China’s four biggest banks reported that staff numbers fell by the most in at least six years in the first half, highlighting the possibility that employment has peaked at the firms that are the world’s biggest providers of banking jobs. A decline of 1.5 percent from the end of last year left 1.62 million workers at Agricultural Bank ...

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged following July’s surprise cut, as policy makers wait to see if the government will adopt additional stimulus measures in its budget next month. Bank Negara Malaysia kept the overnight policy rate at 3 percent, it said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday. The decision was predicted by 14 ...

  Bloomberg Poland’s central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at a record low for a 17th month as economic growth stabilized around 3 percent and deflation stretched into a third year. The 10-member Monetary Policy Council on Wednesday left the seven-day reference rate at 1.5 percent, matching the predictions of all 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Governor Adam ...

  Reuters The chief banking officer of Bank ABC, Ray Ferguson, will step down from his position at the Bahraini lender in early 2017, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Ferguson, hired from Standard Chartered in 2014, had been tasked with helping to formulate and implement a refreshed strategy at the bank which included expanding abroad ...