Bloomberg Standard Bank Group Ltd. said first-quarter net income declined 27% after Africa’s largest lender prepared for a surge in loan defaults as measures to contain the coronavirus batter business and personal incomes alike. Credit-impairment charges for the three months through March were “significantly higher” than in the prior year, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement. “The increase was …

Bloomberg A former Deutsche Bank AG veteran’s Japanese cryptocurrency exchange is poised to start trading services just as Bitcoin shows signs of a recovery from coronavirus-fuelled turmoil. More than two years after its foundation, FXcoin Ltd. plans to offer Bitcoin transactions on its platform from May, it said in a statement on Thursday. The firm has recently begun accepting applications …

Bloomberg Last month HSBC Holdings Plc shocked investors by announcing it would scrap its dividend. For the Hong Kong Medical Association, a group in charge of community public health programs instrumental in the fight against the coronavirus and a long-time investor in the city’s biggest bank, the news meant it would lose 7% of its annual spending budget. With more …