March, 2022

• 17 March

  ‘Neutral Ukraine with army could be compromise’

  

  Bloomberg A proposal for Ukraine to become a neutral country but retain its own armed forces “could be viewed as a certain kind of compromise,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, hinting at possible progress in peace negotiations. Peskov declined to provide details beyond confirming that the idea of Swedish or Austrian-style neutrality is under discussion in the talks now underway ...

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• 17 March

  Germany to borrow $220b more for defense, climate

  

    Bloomberg Germany plans additional borrowing of at least 200 billion euros ($220 billion) this year to finance a fund to modernise the military alongside already-planned debt for climate protection and other initiatives. The latest borrowing binge marks the third consecutive year that Germany has breached constitutional debt limits and highlights how the new government is prepared to take a ...

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• 17 March

  Lawsuit against Nigeria presidential candidate to settle

  

    Bloomberg Adversaries in a Nigerian lawsuit in which a leading presidential candidate is accused of secretly controlling the private company that collects taxes in the state he once ran are discussing an out-of-court settlement. Oladapo Apara, a founder of Alpha Beta Consulting LLP, alleges that Bola Tinubu concealed his control of the firm. In the early 2000s, as governor ...

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• 17 March

  BofA doubles green bond goals, adds people to build ESG in Asia

  

  Bloomberg Bank of America Corp (BofA) aims to double its underwriting of green bond deals in China over the next two to three years, beefing up its business to capture the fast-growing market, the firm’s China head said in an interview. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank plans to underwrite $50 billion of green and sustainability-linked bonds, equities and loans for ...

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• 17 March

  Citigroup to expand Russia retreat beyond consumer-banking exit

  

    Bloomberg Citigroup Inc., the US bank with the largest presence in Russia, will broaden its withdrawal beyond previously announced plans to dispose of consumer operations there. “We have now decided to expand the scope of that exit process to include other lines of business and continue to reduce our remaining operations and exposure,” Edward Skyler, executive vice president of ...

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• 17 March

  Nigeria banks ration dollars as regulator signals stopping sales

  

    Bloomberg Nigerian lenders cut the dollar spending limits on local currency cards to free more resources to fund imports after the central bank signalled it will stop foreign-exchange sales to banks. United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) stopped the use of naira card to withdraw dollars from automated teller machines outside the country or make international payments at point ...

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• 17 March

  Riksbank governor sees rate hike sooner than ’24

  

    Bloomberg The Swedish central bank will probably have to raise interest rates earlier than its previous timeline of 2024, Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said, signalling a shift on removing stimulus after lagging behind most of its developed peers. “Right now inflation is far too high,” Ingves said in an interview with Swedish Radio, adding the central bank has to ...

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• 17 March

  Japan’s banks to pull staff out of Russia

    Bloomberg Japan’s top lenders, including the banking unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., are pulling their Japanese staff out of Russia due to safety concerns following its invasion of Ukraine. The banking units of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are also moving Japanese staff out of the country, according to representatives for the ...

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• 17 March

  RBA says Ukraine war fuels uncertainty on inflation outlook

  

  Bloomberg Australia’s central bank said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has the potential to prolong a period of elevated consumer-price growth and is clouding the economic outlook, minutes of its March 1 policy meeting showed. “The war in Ukraine and the associated increase in energy prices had created additional uncertainty,” the Reserve Bank said in the release on Tuesday. A key ...

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• 17 March

  Chinese stocks in the US surge after promise of state support

  

  Bloomberg Chinese stocks listed on US exchanges soared, rebounding from a steep selloff, after China vowed to keep its stock market stable and support overseas share listings. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. both soared at least 20% in US premarket trading, while Didi Global Inc. jumped more than 40%. The American depository receipts (ADRs) are tracking a rally ...

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