Bloomberg The European Central Bank’s top officials lined up to express cautious confidence in the euro-area economy after a series of reports pointing to a surprisingly weak start to the year, while reiterating that they’ll move only slowly towards ending stimulus. President Mario Draghi and three of his most-senior colleagues signalled that while inflation remains too low and a global …

VIENNA / Reuters BNP Paribas is increasing its presence in Poland with the 775 million euro ($954 million) purchase of Raiffeisen Bank International’s (RBI) main business in the European Union’s largest eastern economy. The French bank said it will merge Raiffeisen Bank Polska, Poland’s tenth largest lender by assets, with BGZ BNP Paribas, which it bought in 2014, bolstering its …

Bloomberg Axis Bank Ltd.’s Chief Executive Officer Shikha Sharma will step down at the end of 2018, more than two years before the proposed end of her term, amid reports the regulator is questioning the lender’s performance. The board of India’s third-largest private bank had proposed she stay through 2021 but accepted Sharma’s request for an exit on December 31, …