Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s Saudi Arabia ventures are exploring a potential merger to create the kingdom’s third-largest lender with $78 billion in assets. Alawwal Bank, which is 40 percent owned by RBS, plans to start initial talks with HSBC’s Saudi British Bank, according to a statement on Saudi stock exchange website. Both …

  Bloomberg Standard Chartered Plc’s return to its roots as a trade bank is bearing fruit. The bank’s shares jumped as much as 5 percent as first-quarter profit topped estimates, fuelled by the biggest increase in transaction banking revenue in more than three years. The lender said it would consider reinstating its dividend next quarter. Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters …

  Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG named Mike Weir to run par loan trading in the U.S., replacing an executive who joined Credit Suisse Group AG this year, according to a person familiar with the matter. Weir, an employee at the German bank since 2014, succeeds Mike Eilert, the person said, asking not to be named because the appointment hasn’t been …