Bloomberg Bank Hapoalim Ltd.’s credit-card unit may be valued at about $1 billion as the lender prepares to divest the business to comply with new Israeli regulations, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Tel Aviv-based bank and smaller rival Leumi Le-Israel Ltd are both meeting with investment banks about the sale of their credit card units, …

  DUBAI / Reuters Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s second-largest bank by market capitalisation, said on Monday that it had decided to suspend the activities and licence of its brokerage business, Al Rayan Financial Brokerage Company. After obtaining the necessary approvals from regulatory authorities, the bank said the last date of trading for the company would be Jan. 12. All remaining …

  Bloomberg China’s new regulations on cash transactions and overseas transfers are not capital controls, according to a central bank researcher cited by the official Xinhua News Agency. New requirements published by the People’s Bank of China on Friday stoked concern that the government is imposing capital controls in a disguised form, Xinhua reported. “It is not capital control at …