Bloomberg Global foreign-currency reserves are falling at the fastest pace on record, as central banks from India to the Czech Republic intervene to support their currencies. Reserves have declined by about $1 trillion, or 7.8%, this year to $12 trillion, the biggest drop since Bloomberg started to compile the data in 2003. Part of the decline — more than ...
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Australia’s RBA sees rising financial stability risks on higher rates, CPI
Bloomberg Australia’s financial stability risks have increased over recent months and some households and businesses are already facing “more challenging conditions†as interest rates rise and inflation accelerates, the Reserve Bank said. “Household income growth has not kept pace with inflation,†the RBA said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Review released in Sydney on Friday. “This has left households with ...
Read More »Citi to offer 7-day sweeps as clients seek faster services
Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. plans to offer automatic-sweep products seven days a week as banks respond to clients’ demands for higher interest rates on deposits and faster access to their cash. Starting with the US and South Korea, the New York-based bank will now allow customers to automatically move funds into one central cash-management account every day, according to a statement. ...
Read More »BofA consumers get more access to wealth advisers
Bloomberg Bank of America Corp.’s wealth unit rolled out a digital program that matches consumers with an adviser to meet rising demand for financial guidance. The firm’s Merrill Wealth Management business launched Merrill Advisor Match to capture new consumers looking for help investing and managing their money. “We want to make it easier and simpler for individuals who are seeking ...
Read More »Mongolian banks curb FX flows to fight cash crunch
Bloomberg Mongolia is facing a worsening foreign currency crunch following Russia’s war with Ukraine and a slump in China’s economy, forcing local banks to restrict the amount of dollars customers can buy. Khan Bank, the country’s largest bank measured by total assets, limited the daily amount of cash that can be converted into foreign currencies to 1 million tugrik ($300) ...
Read More »Peru raises its key interest rate to 7%
Bloomberg Peru raised interest rates for a 15th straight month in a bid to get inflation back under control and limit the risk of capital flight as the US Federal Reserve withdraws stimulus. The central bank raised its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a two-decade high of 7%, in line with expectations. That’s up ...
Read More »Czech banks face 60% windfall tax to fund state energy subsidies
Bloomberg The Czech Finance Ministry told the country’s largest banks it plans to impose a windfall tax on them to fund energy subsidies, according to a summary of the meeting. The government would apply a tax rate of 60% on lenders’ extraordinary profit, seeking to raise about 25 billion koruna ($1 billion) a year, according to a note summarising ...
Read More »New Zealand’s central bank poised for fifth half-point rate hike
Bloomberg New Zealand’s central bank is poised to raise interest rates by half a percentage point for a fifth straight time, and some economists are tipping it will need to keep tightening well into next year as an aggressive Federal Reserve weakens the kiwi dollar. The Reserve Bank will lift the Official Cash Rate to 3.5% from 3% in ...
Read More »CIBC shuffles leadership in US division, investment banking
Bloomberg Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) named Chief Risk Officer Shawn Beber as the new head of its US division and tapped Susan Rimmer to lead the company’s global corporate and investment banking franchise. Current US chief Mike Capatides will take over as the bank’s vice chair in the country when the changes become effective on November 1, ...
Read More »Philippine to curb market disruption
Bloomberg The Philippine central bank said it is taking steps to “manage any disruption†in the financial market, as it asked people not to take undue advantage of developments. “We ask those who have the means not to take undue advantage of changing market conditions,†Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in an emailed statement. “This does not help the ...
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