Cairo / Reuters National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the country’s largest state bank, sold 1.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($169 million) worth of special certificates that were launched in March to attract foreign currency into the banking system, its deputy chairman said. NBE was one of three state banks to launch the certificates on March 14, the day Egypt’s central …

Milan / AFP Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM) said they would shed seven percent of their 25,000 staff as they merge to create Italy’s third-largest bank by assets. The 1,800 jobs are to be cut via voluntary departures, and 800 other employees will be reassigned to other jobs. The number of branches will be cut by 14 percent …

  Tokyo / AFP As China’s leaders consider ways to improve market oversight and avoid the kind of boom and bust in equities that shook investors around the world last year, the nation’s central bank is already extending its oversight to areas beyond its traditional focus. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) this month expanded its powers to cap cross-border capital …