Bloomberg US consumers continued to seek out more credit cards this year even as the Federal Reserve aggressively lifted borrowing costs, a shift that cooled demand for mortgages, auto loans and other types of credit, according to research from the New York Fed. The New York Fed’s most recent credit-access survey showed an application rate for credit cards of ...
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JPMorgan gives new parents 16 weeks of leave as perks boosted
Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. made sweeping improvements to time off for bereavement, sick days, and caring for ill family members — including for the first time giving 16 weeks of leave to either parent for the birth or adoption of a child, regardless of which is the primary caregiver. The changes put the bank more in line with ...
Read More »PBOC’s warning on inflation signals policy easing may be limited
Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) warned inflation may accelerate as overall demand in the economy picks up, suggesting the scope for further monetary policy easing may be limited. The central bank “will pay serious attention to the underlying possibility of rising inflation, especially changes in the demand side,†it said in its quarterly monetary policy report. At ...
Read More »Indonesia, Philippines deliver large interest-rate increases
Bloomberg Monetary authorities in Indonesia and the Philippines delivered large interest-rate increases to curb inflation and support their currencies, while signalling their approaches to policy tightening may differ from here on. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised the key rate by a previously announced 75 basis points to 5%. Shortly after, Bank Indonesia lifted its benchmark rate by half-point to ...
Read More »IMF urges Nigeria to let banks set naira rate
Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to reduce its interventions on the foreign-exchange market and allow banks to set the naira’s conversion rate. This will stop speculation around possible devaluation fuelled by dollar shortages, rising inflation, limited debt servicing capacity and restrictions on dollar transactions, the IMF said after a mission. “These factors ...
Read More »Euro-zone banks to return $308b in cheap loans to ECB
Bloomberg Banks will return €296.3 billion ($308 billion) of cheap loans to the European Central Bank after their terms were toughened to help the battle against record inflation. The repayment represents just under 15% of the total outstanding amount of so-called TLTRO loans, which were used during the pandemic to keep credit flowing to households and businesses. The median ...
Read More »China asks banks to report on liquidity
Bloomberg Chinese regulators asked banks to report on their ability to meet short-term obligations after a rapid selloff in bonds triggered a flood of investor withdrawals from fixed-income products. The unscheduled regulatory queries coincided with the biggest decline in China’s short-term government bonds since mid-2020. The slump — spurred by a shift towards riskier assets including stocks — prompted ...
Read More »Banks need flexibility to draw female talent in post-Covid era
Bloomberg Flexibility is vital to attract talented female employees as many have altered their lifestyles and requirements following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to executives in the financial services industry. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, chairperson at Kasikornbank Pcl, said employers must pay more attention the new needs and adapt quickly to recruit well and sustain growth. Meanwhile Narisa Chauvidul-Aw, chief executive officer and ...
Read More »Citigroup, Barclays cut investment-banking jobs
Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. and Barclays Plc started eliminating jobs in their investment-banking operations, joining other major banks in responding to plunging revenue from the business. Dozens of positions at New York-based Citigroup were cut this week, while reductions expected to eventually total about 200 have begun at London-based Barclays. US banks have been hurt by the dramatic slowdown in ...
Read More »Philippines sticks with bold rate hike
Bloomberg The Philippine central bank delivered its second 75 basis-point interest-rate increase of this year, as it sought to support the peso and cool inflation by matching the pace of hikes by the Federal Reserve. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised the overnight reverse repurchase rate to 5%, as predicted by all but one in a Bloomberg survey of 24 ...
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