Banking

New Zealand central bank governor Adrian Orr has been reappointed for a second five-year term, giving him the opportunity to complete an aggressive tightening cycle as the bank seeks to regain control of inflation. Finance Minister Grant Robertson reappointed Orr after a “unanimous recommendation” from the Reserve Bank Board, Robertson said on Tuesday in Wellington. Orr’s second term begins on …

Citigroup Inc is increasing holiday allowances for UK staff, the latest bid by a bank to improve its working culture. From January, new employees will get 27 days of annual leave, increasing to 28 after two years and 29 after five years, Kathryn Skelton, head of human resources in the UK, said in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. Previously …

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.’s investing banking arm is planning to expand its operation by hiring about 20 bankers, betting on a rebound in deals activity next year. The addition would mean a 25% increase to its current 80-strong investment banking unit, according to S Ramesh, managing director and chief executive officer of Kotak Investment Banking. The firm is looking to …

PayPal Holdings Inc. announced it has reached a truce with Apple Inc. and the two technology giants will begin accepting each other’s products in their separate payment ecosystems. Starting next year, PayPal and Venmo debit cards will be accepted inside the Apple Wallet, meaning consumers will be able to use them anywhere Apple Pay is accepted, PayPal said in a …

UBS Group AG is branching out into rural Brazil to find millionaires created by rapid growth in the agribusiness and tech industries. The Swiss bank plans to open a wealth-management office in the midwestern city of Goiania, the capital of what’s known as Brazilian Texas because of its similarities to the farm-rich US state. Another will open this month in …

The Czech central bank confirmed a preference for keeping borrowing costs stable, defying its new forecast that called for significant monetary tightening. Policy makers left the benchmark rate at 7%, keeping it unchanged for a third meeting after the bank’s new leadership halted a year of rapid hikes. Officials also reaffirmed their intervention policy of preventing excessive koruna swings, which …

India’s central bank started a pilot program of its digital currency, allowing select banks to use it for settling secondary-market transactions in government securities. Several lots of bonds were traded, with data from Clearing Corp of India showing 7.38% 2027 debt and 7.26% 2032 bonds were among the first to change hands using new form of currency. Nine banks are …

ING Groep NV said it will buy back as much as €1.5 billion ($1.47 billion) of shares to reward investors, after a mixed third quarter in which profit missed estimates following charges at its Polish business and in accounting for hedges. Net income of the bank reached €979 million in the three months through September compared with analysts’ expectations for …

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde warned that a “mild recession” is possible but that it wouldn’t be sufficient in itself to stem soaring prices. Speaking a week after the ECB’s second straight 75 basis-point hike in borrowing costs, and as fears mount that the energy crisis will drag down output in the 19-nation euro zone, Lagarde said “we …

The People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) Governor Yi Gang reaffirmed a pledge to make the yuan exchange rate more flexible, while vowing to improve the monetary policy. The central bank will keep the yuan basically stable at a reasonable equilibrium level, Yi reiterated in a meeting held to study the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade congress, according to a statement published by …