Bloomberg The two-decade run of record profits at China’s biggest banks, which even survived the financial crisis, is facing its biggest test. Banks such as Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s largest by assets, are caught in a vise as their operations are hammered by the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus. At the same time, they are ...

Bloomberg South African banks are being criticised by labour unions and small business owners for not doing enough to help struggling customers as the coronavirus lockdown looms. “The response is quite underwhelming,” said Matthew Parks, a parliamentary coordinator for the Congress of South African Trade Unions. “There are too many ifs and buts. It’s hitting too few people. It’s just ...

Bloomberg PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia has revived its plan to sell a stake in its life insurance arm, which is attracting interest from suitors in a deal that could fetch about $500 million, according to people familiar with the matter. FWD Group Ltd., backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, and BNP Paribas Cardif SA are among potential bidders for ...

Bloomberg Jamal Al Kishi, Deutsche Bank AG’s chief executive officer (CEO) for the Middle East and Africa, has quit to join Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank (GIB). Al Kishi, who had been with the German lender since 2007, will become CEO of GIB’s parent company and deputy group CEO, the bank said in a statement. Headquartered in Bahrain, GIB is almost ...

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc grounded its entire fleet after completing customer-repatriation flights, and said it’s in talks to build a cash cushion to see it through the gap in business caused by the coronavirus. The restart of scheduled flights will depend on government restrictions as well as demand, the UK discount carrier said in a statement. The shares fell as much ...

Bloomberg Eight people were killed after a Lionair plane caught fire before it took off from Manila for Tokyo on a medical mission. The plane was a West Wind 24 aircraft bound for the Haneda airport in Japan with two passengers and six crew members on board, according to Manila airport authorities. Manila International Airport fire and rescue officials rushed ...

Bloomberg Two of the US’s biggest airlines are warning workers that the unprecedented loss of customers may leave both as smaller companies in the future, imperiling the nation’s airline jobs even after the government steps in with billions of dollars to help the industry weather the coronavirus pandemic. Top executives at Delta Air Lines Inc and United Airlines told their ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG has applied for German subsidies to offset wages of some 31,000 workers that have been idled because the airline has largely grounded its fleet. The so-called Kurzarbeit programme affects cabin crew and ground staff, a spokesman confirmed to Bloomberg News by email. The company is in talks with its pilots union about similar measures, with a ...

Bloomberg Airlines worldwide raised more than $17 billion in bank loans in March to shore up their finances amid the coronavirus outbreak. US carriers were the most active, borrowing $12.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Delta Air Lines Inc is the top borrower this month, obtaining $5.6 billion, followed by Singapore Airlines Ltd, which secured a S$4 billion ...

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc has extended the shuttering of a warehouse dedicated to returning apparel after three workers tested positive for Covid-19, the first known instance of the online retailer indefinintely idling a US facility in response to the pandemic. The move comes after employees expressed concern that returning to work to process returned sneakers and wristwatches wasn’t worth the risk ...