Banking

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank may need to rely more on asset purchases for monetary stimulus as its negative interest rates approach the limit of their effectiveness, economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. While negative rates in the euro area have successfully eased financial conditions for banks and their customers — spurring a modest credit expansion that supports ...

  Bloomberg New Zealand’s dollar surged to the highest level since May 2015 after traders deemed the central bank’s decision to cut borrowing costs was insufficiently dovish amid the global ardor for yield that’s been spurred by unprecedented global monetary easing. The Aussie and kiwi dollars have gained at least 0.5 percent this month as their central banks reduced benchmark ...

  Mumbai / Bloomberg Bank of Baroda, India’s second largest state-run lender by assets, fell the most in almost three months after surging bad-loan provisions dragged first-quarter profit lower. Shares of Baroda fell 8.3 percent, the biggest intraday drop since May 16, to 147.15 rupees as of 12:20 p.m. local time. The stock has lost 6 percent this year, compared ...

  Bloomberg South Korea’s central bank held its key interest rate at a record low as board members deferred further policy action until they have a clearer picture of the economy’s path. The decision to keep the seven-day repurchase rate at 1.25 percent was forecast by all 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. All seven board members agreed on the decision, ...

  Bloomberg Turkey’s banks are taking their orders from the top. At least seven lenders in the country announced they’d slashed interest charges on mortgage loans after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said resistance to lower borrowing costs could be ” treason.” The remarks were the harshest yet from Erdogan, who’s been pushing the nation’s central bank for several years to ...

  Sydney / AFP Australia’s biggest lender Commonwealth Bank sounded a cautious note about the country’s economic outlook on Wednesday even as it posted a record Aus$9.23 billion (US$7.08 billion) in annual profit. The Commonwealth Bank’s performance is closely watched for guidance on the health of the Australian economy in the current low interest-rate environment. CBA chief executive Ian Narev ...

  Douala / AFP Four employees of a Cameroon bank have been detained on suspicion of stealing millions of euros, sources said. The four staff members of BICEC, a local subsidiary of French bank BPCE, have been placed in detention in the economic capital Douala after they were arrested, a legal source said on condition of anonymity. The group, which ...

  Bloomberg The Central Bank of Nigeria granted lenders permission to write off any fully provided non-performing loans without waiting for the full year required by regulations, as authorities seek ways to boost lending and avert a recession in Africa’s biggest economy. The decision follows a request by banks for an amendment to the rule that requires lenders to retain ...

  Bloomberg Roger Ferguson’s deal to buy EverBank Financial Corp. shows an eagerness to expand TIAA, the company known for offering retirement products to teachers, while he counters for-profit insurance rivals that retreated from heavily regulated deposit-taking operations. TIAA will pay $2.5 billion in cash for the largest Florida-based lender, adding a platform for providing personal and business loans, Ferguson ...

  Bloomberg India’s central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan left interest rates unchanged at his last policy review as food prices threaten to push inflation above the nation’s target. The benchmark repurchase rate will stay at a five-year low of 6.50 percent, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement in Mumbai on Tuesday. The move was predicted by 27 ...