Banking

  Bloomberg Even after almost a year of unchanged rates, caution is still a virtue for economists gauging the Russian central bank’s next move. All but two of the 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg agreed with the International Monetary Fund’s advice to keep the pace of future easing gradual. The rest said they concur with a call by the head ...

  Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s planned privatisations, including a share sale in the world’s biggest oil company, represent the biggest investment banking opportunity in the emerging markets, according to the Citigroup Inc. Implementation of the Kingdom’s plans to restructure the economy — known as Vision 2030 — “could translate into a fantastic wallet for the investment banks,” Omar Iqtidar, Citigroup’s head ...

  RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabia would not benefit from altering its exchange rate policy and does not intend to do so, its new central bank governor told the state-linked Al Arabiya channel. Ahmed al-Kholifey said the riyal currency has been suffering due to market speculation that the policy might change. “The agency does not intend to change the exchange ...

  Reuters Qatar National Bank (QNB) has closed the syndication of a 2.25 billion euro ($2.50 billion), three-year loan, it said on Sunday. The loan facility, in which 14 banks participated, was increased from 1.5 billion euros due to “strong market over-subscription”, QNB said in a bourse statement. The loan’s annual interest rate is EURIBOR plus 1.05 percent. The money ...

  BLOOMBERG China should quietly allow wider moves in the yuan, a strategy that will reduce the cost of limiting declines, although US pressure against a big devaluation will be a deterrent, according to a former People’s Bank of China adviser. “The currency basket should be allowed to fluctuate within a big band, at least 20 percent,” Yu Yongding said ...

  PARAMARIBO / AP Suriname has landed a $478 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost an economic reform programme amid a drop in commodity prices, becoming the second South American country to seek such a bailout in nearly a decade. The IMF said it will immediately disburse $81 million as part of a two-year deal announced ...

  NEW YORK / AP Splitting the bill for those pizzas you shared with your buddies or that utility bill that is suddenly due is going to get easier and faster even if you don’t all use the same bank. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and other big banks are upgrading their online payment services to let customers make instant transfers ...

Bloomberg Banca Carige SpA, the Italian lender working on a new business plan to meet demands of European regulators, ruled out raising additional capital to shore up its finances, denying a report published by la Repubblica. Suggestions that the lender is considering raising as much as 400 million euros ($445 million) as part of its business plan are groundless, the ...

  Bloomberg Spanish lender Banco Popular’s plan to sell about €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) of new shares has dealt a brutal lesson to investors trusting past efforts by regulators and management to clean up European bank balance sheets. The stock fell to a 26-year low after the offering was announced this week. The fact is that Banco Popular was supposed ...

  EMIRATES BUSINESS Saxo Bank, the online multi-asset trading and investment specialist, has announced a new white label partnership with Lufax, China’s largest internet finance company. The partnership, expected to launch within the next three months, will see Lufax leverage the trading technology that underpins the award-winning SaxoTraderGO — providing Lufax’s considerable client base with a seamless experience across mobile ...