Bloomberg China’s central bank has ordered the nation’s lenders to strictly control new loans in the first quarter of the year, people familiar with the matter said, in another move to curb excess leverage in the financial system. The new guidance from the People’s Bank of China puts a particular emphasis on mortgage lending, the people said, as authorities ...

  Bloomberg Intesa Sanpaolo SpA’s fund-management arm expects rising inflows to boost assets to about 400 billion euros ($430 billion) as it expands its institutional client base, adds commercial offers and widens its distribution network. Eurizon Capital SGR SpA plans to expand its European staff by about 3 percent this year from the current 550 employees, partly by hiring teams ...

  Bloomberg Italy’s 20 billion-euro ($21.4 billion) government rescue fund is sufficient to recapitalize the country’s troubled banks, and about a third of money will be used for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, Bank of Italy governor Ignazio Visco said. “This measure is an important one for Italy as it emerges from the crisis that buffeted its economy ...