Melbourne / Bloomberg National Australia Bank (NAB) Ltd.’s third-quarter profit fell 3 percent amid rising expenses for bad debts and provisions for mining and agricultural loans, rounding off the most challenging reporting season for the nation’s lenders in six years. Unaudited cash profit from continuing operations, which excludes one-time items, declined to A$1.6 billion ($1.2 billion) in the three …

  Tokyo / Bloomberg The Bank of Japan’s controversial march to the top of shareholder rankings in the world’s third-largest equity market is picking up pace. Already a top-five owner of 81 companies in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average, the BOJ is on course to become the No. 1 shareholder in 55 of those firms by the end of next …

  LONDON / AP The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland says the company will move its headquarters out of Scotland if the country votes for independence. RBS said before Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum that it would leave in the event of independence. CEO Ross McEwan says Britain’s June 23 vote to leave the European Union had not changed …