Banking

  Vienna / Reuters The euro zone needs negative interest rates to avoid sliding into deflation, European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said in an Austrian newspaper interview, defending the policy against widespread criticism in Germany. The ECB kept the cost of borrowing for banks at zero on Thursday and will continue to charge them 0.4 percent ...

  Bloomberg Family Bank Ltd., a closely-held Kenyan lender, plans to raise 4 billion shillings ($40 million) in a share sale to existing investors by June that will be used to fund an East African expansion. The company wants to make a “cautious entry” into markets in the region over the next year, outgoing Managing Director Peter Munyiri told reporters ...

  MILAN / REUTERS Banca Popolare di Vicenza faces legal claims of upto 1.65 billion euros ($1.9 billion) from clients who allege they were misled into buying its shares, potentially undermining a state-backed rescue of the loss-making bank. Italy’s eighth-largest bank revealed the legal risks in a 950-page prospectus for its initial public offering, aimed at raising money to shore ...

  Bloomberg Apollo Global Management LLC said it plans to use its purchase of Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (KBM) to build a regional “champion” that will compete with three other main banking groups in a streamlined industry. Apollo, which completed the 250 million-euros ($284 million) takeover this week, wants to merge Nova KBM with Postna Banka Slovenije and Raiffeisen Bank ...

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) said it plans to start buying corporate bonds in June as it unveiled more details of its purchase programme. The bank will start buying corporate bonds maturing between six months and 30 years, according to a statement on the bank’s website. Purchases will include bonds issued by insurance companies, while excluding those sold ...

  Toronto / REUTERS Trading activity in North America’s first yuan hub, Toronto, has fallen short of the heightened levels expected at its launch and local banks should be doing more to spur growth, an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) executive said. The hub was launched more than a year ago to foster increased trade and investment activity ...

  New York / AFP The yen weakened sharply amid reports that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is mulling cutting the rates on some loans to banks into negative territory. Such a move would support the banks’ earnings but also serve as stimulus by possibly pushing more money into the economy. The news sent the yen tumbling 2.1 percent against the ...

  BLOOMBERG Svenska Handelsbanken AB needs to take a bigger share of the wealth market to reach its ‘natural’ size in the business area, according to its chief executive officer, Frank Vang-Jensen. The bank is buying Dutch firm Optimix, which will add about $2.3 billion to its assets under management. Vang-Jensen says he also wants to invest more in 10 ...

  Frankfurt / AFP European Central Bank (ECB) held its key interest rates steady on Thursday, but analysts believe it could pave the way for new stimulus measures soon, despite growing resistance in Germany. The ECB’s governing council voted, as expected, to keep the benchmark “refi” refinancing rate at its current all-time low of zero percent, after cutting it to ...

  MILAN / Reuters Italy’s market regulator gave the green light on Thursday for struggling lender Banca Popolare di Vicenza to list on the Milan stock exchange with a 1.76 billion euros ($2 billion) initial share offer, to be underwritten by a new bank bailout fund. Popolare di Vicenza, Italy’s eighth-largest lender, needs to raise the money to plug a ...