Banking

BOGOTA / AP Citibank is planning to sell the consumer banking operations it has operated for a century in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia as South America’s three biggest economies suffer a major downturn. The New York-based bank said Friday in a statement that its decision was prompted by a desire to allocate resources where it can generate the best returns. ...

Colombo / AFP Sri Lanka’s central bank raised benchmark interest rates for the first time in nearly four years by 50 basis points ahead of a possible IMF bailout. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka raised its lending rate from 7.5 to 8.0 percent, saying that relatively cheap money had the potential to fuel demand-driven inflation that could undermine the ...

Frankfurt / Bloomberg With German government bonds on their longest winning streak in more than a year, investors are set to scour inflation data next week for clues as to whether the European Central Bank will provide more stimulus next month. A measure of euro-region inflation expectations stayed near a record low this week even as the central bank pledged ...

WASHINGTON / AP The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is giving managing director Christine Lagarde a second five-year term. Lagarde, the first woman to hold the post, was the only candidate nominated. Her new term starts July 5. Lagarde, 60, was named the IMF’s 11th managing director in 2011. She has led the multinational lending agency through the European ...

MOSCOW / Bloomberg Marine Le Pen’s National Front party is reaching out to Russian banks for the 25 million euros ($27.7 million) it needs to bankroll its 2017 presidential campaign, the party’s treasurer Wallerand de Saint Just said. “I will look for funds where I know I might get them,” Saint Just said in a telephone interview. “I found some ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp.’s Bruce Thompson, who stepped down as chief financial officer last year, will stick with the company in a role dealing with the lender’s biggest corporate clients. Thompson, 51, was set to pursue opportunities at another firm after Paul Donofrio, 55, was named CFO in July, people with knowledge of the situation said at the time. ...

JAKARTA / Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank reduced its main interest rates and reserve ratio for lenders, taking more determined action to boost the economy in the face of political pressure. Governor Agus Martowardojo and his board lowered the benchmark reference rate by 25 basis points to 7 percent, Bank Indonesia said Thursday. That’s in line with the forecasts of 17 ...

Bloomberg Rabobank Groep, the biggest Dutch mortgage lender, recorded a 20 percent rise in full-year profit after loan impairment charges plunged in 2015. Net income jumped to 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) from 1.8 billion euros for 2014, the closely held bank said in a statement on Thursday. Goodwill impairments fell 61 percent to 1 billion euros for the year ...

Bloomberg China’s central bank said it will start conducting open-market operations every business day, strengthening its influence on interest rates. The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) introduced daily auctions from Jan. 29 to manage liquidity around the Lunar New Year holiday, a period in which surging demand for funds has led to cash squeezes in the past, and was due ...

Bloomberg Barclays Plc is considering selling its Egyptian unit after abandoning a plan to fold it into its Africa business, according to people with knowledge of the plan. The unit, whose presence in Egypt dates back to 1864, may be worth more than $500 million, according to one person familiar, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t ...