Bloomberg KBC Group NV’s chief executive apologised for his criticism of an Irish mortgage overcharging investigation, after his comments drew a public rebuke from the country’s prime minister, Leo Varadkar. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum rounded on Johan Thijs after he urged the Irish central bank to “turn the page” on the “annoying” inquiry into how thousands of customers ...

Bloomberg Investigations into money laundering at Danske Bank A/S should be expanded to include the lender’s possible use of gold as a way to help clients in Estonia hide their fortunes, according to Danish lawmakers. “Danske Bank has some explaining to do,” Torsten Schack Pedersen, a Liberal Party member on the parliament committee that oversees financial legislation, said by phone. ...

Bloomberg A former Societe Generale SA (SocGen) banker fired over allegations he took secret information on a $10 billion chemical deal and shared it with a friend lost a second bid to get about 430,000 euros ($473,000) in compensation related to his dismissal. The Paris court of appeals rejected the claims by Stephane Fima, who was dismissed in 2016 for ...

Bloomberg European Central Bank (ECB) policy maker Madis Muller said the central bank could broadened its asset-purchase programme, if the economic situation in the euro area deteriorates significantly. “Right now, we are doing unconventional things,” he told students at a Bundesbank event in Frankfurt. “You could — of course — imagine even more unconventional things if the situation gets really ...

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi is to introduce the GCC’s first Social Impact Bond, an innovative and internationally recognised financial tool that raises private investment to support high-impact social programs, under the Authority for Social Contribution – Ma’an. Launching next year, Social Impact Bonds operate on a pay-for-success basis, whereby payment relies on a successful social outcome – ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Zayed House for Islamic Culture (ZHIC), has registered one million participants in the “Covenant for Million Tolerant” e-initiative launched last April as part of the Year of Tolerance programmes, aimed at promoting the values of tolerance within the UAE community. According to statistics, visitors to the e-platform reached 1,300,000, of which 68 percent were males ...

ABU DHABI / WAM The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation donated AED5.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to implement its project to provide school supplies to Palestinian refugee students of the UNRWA Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Elementary Boys and Elementary Co-Educational Schools in northern Gaza. ...

DUBAI / WAM DMCC, a Dubai-based free zone that acts as a gateway into global trade, released on Sunday the approved Arabic translation of the ‘Diamond Terminology Guideline.’ The guideline sets a universal standard for the diamond and jewellery trade when communicating about diamonds and laboratory-grown diamonds. The guideline provides clear and accessible terminology to eliminate confusion among industry bodies, ...

DUBAI / wam Emirates Post, in association with Arab Postal Authorities, issued a unified commemorative stamp entitled ‘Al Quds – Capital of Palestine’, to support Al Quds’ cause and to protect its Arabian heritage, as well as serve a reminder of the emotional and cultural importance the city holds in the eyes of every Arab. During a meeting that was ...

Bloomberg India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it was too early to say if the slowdown in the economy had bottomed out. Companies are planning new investments after $20 billion worth of corporate tax cuts announced in September, Sitharaman told reporters in New Delhi. Actual investments may take some time to materialise, she said. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s government has ...