Bloomberg Barclays Plc is looking to reduce its real estate expenses in the UK, US and India as the shift to remote working adds fuel to its cost-cutting ambitions. The bank could announce changes early next year although the board has not taken a final decision on the extent and timing of any measures, people with knowledge of the matter …

Bloomberg The US Treasury Department said it hasn’t identified any banks or other financial institutions linked to a group of people sanctioned in October over China’s crackdown on Hong Kong. The decision, announced in a report required by Congress, is likely to come as a relief to major banks that had sought to unwind any connection to those sanctioned for …

Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc’s Black employees are paid about 20% less than their colleagues as British lenders struggle with their representation across senior positions. The median pay gap between Black employees and other peers was 19.7%, while the bonus gap was 37.6%, according to the bank’s April 2019-2020 report. “For our Black colleagues, the pay and bonus gap is …

Bloomberg Brazil had its best year ever for equity sales, and Bank of America (BofA) Corp made the most of it. The Wall Street lender is this year’s top equity underwriter in the nation, handling 20.6 billion reais ($4 billion) and leapfrogging Banco Itau BBA and JPMorgan Chase & Co, which took the two top spots in 2019, data compiled …

Bloomberg UK lenders would be forced to refund all victims of financial fraud if plans being proposed by an official watchdog are adopted, according to the Telegraph newspaper. The Payment Systems Regulator — an independent subsidiary of the Financial Conduct Authority — will lead a consultation due to begin within weeks on whether customers who are tricked into transferring money …

Bloomberg Even if everyone agrees that vaccines will ignite the economy next year, Wall Street’s collective consciousness has no idea what it will mean for stocks. Forecasts among the people paid to fashion such estimates are all over the map — to an almost historic degree. The most bullish, Dubravko Lakos-Bujas at JPMorgan, predicts the return to normal will serve …

Bloomberg Most equities markets in the Middle East advanced as investors looked to the rollout of mass vaccination programs for a fresh spur to prices. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawaul All Share Index gained the most in the region, climbing 0.3% in 10:27 am local time. Gauges in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Kuwait also rose, while Oman’s benchmark index slipped. Saudi …

Bloomberg Sri Lanka’s credit rating was pushed further into junk at S&P Global Ratings, which cited the nation’s deteriorating fiscal position as a risk to the sovereign’s ability to service debt. The country’s long-term foreign-currency credit rating was cut to CCC+ from B-, with a stable outlook, according to a statement from S&P. Sri Lanka’s credit score is now the …

Bloomberg The UK will become the first major industrialised nation to end all public finance for fossil fuel projects overseas, in an effort to mark itself out as a leader in tackling climate change. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to make the announcement at a virtual United Nations summit , which he’s co-hosting with France, Italy and Chile. More …

NEW YORK / WAM The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed just how important it is for all countries to have strong health systems that provide the entire population with quality services when and where they need them, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stressed. “For Universal Health Coverage Day, let us commit to ending this crisis and build a safer and healthier …