Bloomberg German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the EU’s stalled investment accord with China, human rights and other issues in a “farewell” bilateral talk. Preparation for the G-20 summit, fighting climate change and grappling with the global pandemic were also discussed in the video conference on Wednesday, Martina Fietz, Merkel’s deputy spokeswoman, said in a statement ...

Bloomberg Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol gave his strongest signal yet that a rate hike is likely in the works for November as he flagged worsening financial imbalances, growing inflationary pressures and solid recovery momentum. The central bank’s decision to hold rates at 0.75% was opposed by two members who called for a back-to-back increase following August’s liftoff. Dissension ...

Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) is giving businesses new ways to transfer money to their customers. The new system, known as Recipient Select, allows consumers to choose among various options for receiving refunds, rebates and other payouts while increasing the speed and efficiency for transferring the funds, Bank of America said in a statement. The digital portal, launched this ...

Bloomberg NatWest Group Plc said it will lend 100 billion pounds ($136 billion) to customers cutting carbon emissions by the end of 2025. The British bank said it will focus on projects that help the UK move towards a net-zero economy with products including sustainability bonds and lending to firms that can show they are mostly low-carbon. NatWest has previously ...

Bloomberg Societe Generale SA expects to cut as many as 3,700 jobs as part of a plan announced last year to merge its domestic retail operations and boost profitability. The reductions will be carried out between 2023 and 2025 and will stem from natural attrition, estimated at 1,500 per year, the bank said in a statement. “The merger will not ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s central bankers are expected to signal a potential tightening of monetary policy next year, while holding steady for now, amid rising inflation risks from supply-chain disruptions and surging energy prices. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which uses a currency band as its main tool rather than interest rates, will signal a more hawkish tone when it releases ...

Bloomberg The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in an unprecedented move suspended an audit firm citing compliance failure related to a shadow lender, a sign the watchdog is doubling down on supervision of a still-fragile corner of the nation’s financial system. Haribhakti & Co. will be barred from auditing any regulated financial entity for two years starting April 1, 2022, ...

Bloomberg UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers is creating a new bank-wide team to use more artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to drive the bank’s digitisation. The new team called AI, Data and Analytics, will be lead by the head of the investment bank Rob Karofsky and chief digital and information officer Mike Dargan, according to a ...

Bloomberg Chinese property developers are responsible for about half of the world’s distressed dollar bonds, a fresh indication of the magnitude and global nature of the industry’s woes. Of the $139 billion of dollar-denominated bonds trading at distressed prices, 46% were issued by companies in China’s real estate sector, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on October 12. That captured ...

Bloomberg The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned of the risk of sudden and steep declines in global equity prices and home values as the Federal Reserve and other central banks withdraw the support they’ve provided during the pandemic. Ultra-easy monetary policy has led to “pockets of market exuberance and rising financial leverage” that could unwind in disorderly ways and put ...