Cape Town / Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc led a rally in Japanese bank shares after the Sankei newspaper reported that policy makers are considering allowing the central bank to directly finance government stimulus spending. MUFG, Japan’s largest bank, closed 5.3 percent higher in Tokyo trading on Wednesday and was the best performer on the Topix Banks Index, …

  Bloomberg Just as Israel is close to legislating major reforms to the banking industry, critical voices are starting to mount. A cabinet member echoed concerns of a credit crisis raised by the International Monetary Fund, days after the organisation said certain points of the government’s proposal contradict the lessons of the last financial crisis. “I would not ignore the …

  Bloomberg Malaysia’s new central bank governor Muhammad Ibrahim unexpectedly cut interest rates for the first time in seven years, joining Asian counterparts from Indonesia to Taiwan in easing policy as global risks mount. In his second rate-setting meeting since taking office two months ago, Muhammad lowered the overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 3 percent, a decision …