MANILA / Bloomberg The Philippine bank manager who approved fund transfers at the center of an $81 million cyber heist will tell lawmakers in a closed hearing on Thursday that she was following orders from high-level officials at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., her lawyer said. Maia Santos Deguito has e-mails, mobile-phone messages and other evidence showing that she was acting …

Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co., the most valuable US bank, left Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf’s compensation for 2015 unchanged at $19.3 million. Stumpf, 62, received $2.8 million in salary, a $4 million bonus and $12.5 million in long-term equity incentive awards, the San Francisco-based bank said Wednesday in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. That’s the …

BLOOMBERG Switzerland’s central bank held interest rates at a record low and repeated its pledge to intervene in currency markets, a threat President Thomas Jordan has used to keep the franc from strengthening. Describing the nation’s currency as “significantly overvalued,” the Swiss National Bank kept its deposit rate at minus 0.75 percent on Thursday, as expected by all economists in …

BLOOMBERG A newly discovered Russian-language hacker group known as Buhtrap has attacked 13 Russian banks since August using malware that infiltrates their gateway to the central bank, according to Moscow-based cybersecurity company Group-IB. The hackers spread the malware using infected e-mails that mimickedcorrespondence from the central bank and Gazprombank JSC, Group-IB said in a report Thursday. The program then targeted …

Dubai / EMIRATES BUSINESS Despite global economic volatility over the past year, which contributed to multiple downward revisions for growth forecasts, investment appetite among UAE High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) does not appear to be dented, with 61% confirming that they would most likely invest in their top target city during 2016, according to leading international real estate consultancy, Cluttons. …

Doha / EMIRATES BUSINESS Barwa Real Estate Company plans to develop several new projects in 2016. Company’s Annual General Assembly meeting held on March 16 endorsed recommendation of Board of Directors to distribute cash dividends of 22 percent, equivalent to QR2.20 per share. Addressing the shareholders, H E Salah bin Ghanim Al Ali, Chairman of the Board, Barwa Real Estate …

Bloomberg Lenders are getting stingier when it comes to funding risky U.S. real estate developments, putting pressure on landlords in need of fresh funding to keep their projects afloat. Banks are proceeding with caution as the specter of slowing economic growth rattles financial markets and shakes investor confidence in a six-year recovery that’s helped lift property values to records. Lenders …

Bloomberg Qatar Airways remains on the hunt for a stake in discount carrier IndiGo to add to its portfolio of holdings after failing to buy shares of India’s largest airline at the time of last year’s initial public offering. “I cannot force the owners to sell a stake to me,” Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said. “But if they …

BASEL / AFP The world’s biggest watch fair opened in the Swiss city of Basel on Thursday as a slumping luxury market and the soaring popularity of connected timepieces cast gloom over the industry. Baselworld is the highlight of the year for watch and jewellery makers, with retailers flooding in to snap up the latest eye-candy for their showcases. The …

Bloomberg When a Fastjet Plc plane flew from Tanzanian business hub Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on Lake Victoria on Nov. 29, 2012, Chief Executive Officer Ed Winter lauded the service as heralding the start of low-cost travel in Africa. Barely three years on and Winter quit this week after a spat with backer and EasyJet Plc founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou …