Milan / AFP Italy’s biggest bank, UniCredit, announced plans on Tuesday to slash 14,000 jobs and raise billions of euros in fresh capital as the country gets to grips with political instability and a banking crisis. The bank, one of the worst performers in European bank stress tests, confirmed it would need to seek 13 billion euros ($13.8 bn) …

  Frankfurt am Main / AFP The ECB said it would open an inquiry after its refusal to extend a deadline for Italy’s troubled Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank (BMPS) was leaked to the media before the lender was formally notified of the decision. “An internal inquiry will be launched,” a spokesman for the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank said, …

  DUBAI / Reuters Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has received a licence to open a branch in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Japanese bank to establish a presence in the kingdom. The bank, part of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, has played a central role in the Saudi government’s recent financing activity, in April helping to arrange a $10 billion loan, …