August, 2021

• 2 August

  NatWest reversing more loan provisions, plans buyback in Q2

  

  Bloomberg NatWest Group Plc is reversing more of the provisions it took early in the Covid-19 pandemic as the British economy rebounds, helping it beat earnings forecasts in the second quarter and return cash to shareholders. The UK’s biggest corporate lender posted an operating profit before tax of 1.6 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) in the second quarter, compared to a ...

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• 2 August

  Monte Paschi is Europe’s worst lender as UniCredit deal looms

  

  Bloomberg A day after UniCredit Spa announced talks to buy it, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA was the worst performer in European regulators’ stress tests and the only one to have a key measure of capital wiped out. That’s creating questions over the mechanics of a deal engineered by UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel and the Italian ...

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• 2 August

  Lloyds raises outlook on improving UK recovery

  

  Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc beat forecasts in the second quarter and lifted its guidance for the year as it released further provisions it had set aside for loans going bad during the pandemic. Pretax profit of 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) came in ahead of analyst expectations for 1.4 billion pounds, according to a consensus compiledby Bloomberg, and compares ...

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• 2 August

  JPMorgan names Ben Walter head of banking unit

  Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co tapped Hiscox Ltd’s Ben Walter to lead the firm’s business-banking division, succeeding Jennifer Roberts, who was named head of consumer banking earlier this year. Walter, 47, will join the biggest US bank in October as chief executive officer of the unit, which provides services to small businesses with as much as $20 million in annual ...

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• 2 August

  BNP profit beats as CEO Bonnafe sees rebound in equities

  

  Bloomberg BNP Paribas SA got a boost from lower provisions for bad loans and a rebound in equities trading last quarter, as Chief Executive Officer Jean-Laurent Bonnafe builds up the trading business. Revenue from the stocks unit more than doubled from a year earlier, helping drive a 27% jump in overall profit that topped analysts’ estimates. Still, the Paris-based lender ...

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• 1 August

  Big rethink ahead for Chinese stocks listed in US after July

  

  Bloomberg It’s been a hellish month for China-based companies listed in the US. A clampdown by Beijing authorities led to the worst selloff since the financial crisis, prompting a broad reassessment for a burgeoning corner of the world’s largest stock market. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index — which tracks 98 of China’s biggest firms listed in the US — ...

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• 1 August

  Senators eye taxes on cryptocurrency to fund infrastructure plan

  

  Bloomberg The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal envisions imposing stricter rules on cryptocurrency investors to collect more taxes to fund a portion of the $550 billion investment into transportation and power systems. The provisions would raise an additional $28 billion from cryptocurrency transactions, according to a summary of the plan. The proposal would impose more rules on crypto brokers to report ...

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• 1 August

  UAE’s $110m relief aid helps Socotra overcome challenges

  

  ABU DHABI / WAM The development and relief aid provided by the UAE to Socotra Governorate since 2015 enabled the Archipelago to overcome its many challenges and dire humanitarian conditions and helped local authorities to improve life and livelihood of Soqotri people. The aid provided to the island from 2015 to 2021 amounted to $110 million, according to official reports, ...

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• 1 August

  World trade in medical goods grew 16.3% in 2020, says WTO

  

  GENEVA / WAM Trade in medical goods registered growth of 16.3 percent in 2020 — compared with 4.7 percent growth in 2019 when the Covid-19 pandemic was just starting, according to the World Trade Statistical Review 2021 issued by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Exports of medical products, including medicines, medical equipment and PPE, rose by more than 16 percent, ...

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• 1 August

  UAE condemns bomb-laden drone attack on Saudi vessel

  ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE has expressed its strong denunciation and condemnation of the systematic and deliberate attempts by the Iran-backed Houthi militia to target a Saudi commercial vessel in the Southern Red Sea with a bomb-laden drone intercepted by Coalition air forces. The UAE affirmed in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ...

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