Bloomberg Westpac Banking Corp’s half-year profit climbed as a continued recovery in the nation’s economy drove a further reduction in pandemic loan-loss provisions at Australia’s second-largest lender. Cash earnings rise to A$3.5 billion ($2.7 billion) in the six months through March 31, compared with A$993 million in the same period a year earlier, the Sydney-based bank said in a statement. ...

Bloomberg Bank of Nova Scotia agreed to acquire an additional 7% stake in its Chile operations from the Said family for about C$500 million ($400 million), putting to work some of the excess capital it has built up during the Covid pandemic. The purchase, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions, would boost its ownership of the operation ...

Bloomberg India’s sharp surge in Covid-19 cases will not prevent the country’s markets from setting a record for initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2021, as a cohort of technology companies make their much-anticipated debuts later in the year, according to UBS Group AG. Last year companies amassed $4.6 billion from IPOs, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and Anuj Kapoor, ...