May, 2017

• 8 May

  Top banker says funding costs at Turkish banks are rising

  

    Bloomberg Turkish banks’ funding costs are rising, says the chairman of the nation’s largest-listed lender by assets, threatening government efforts to engineer a credit boom. “Capital erosion is the most important issue in the Turkish banking industry, because capital has become the most important limited resource,” Ersin Ozince of Turkiye Is Bankasi AS said in an interview with Bloomberg ...

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• 8 May

  Risks to growth almost back in balance: ECB

  

    Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) will soon be able to adopt a more optimistic tone on the euro-area economy — a possible first step in winding down stimulus — according to Executive Board member Yves Mersch. “The recovery in the euro area is gaining more and more traction,” Mersch said in a speech in Tokyo on Monday. “The ...

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• 8 May

  Attijariwafa plans Africa expansions this year

  

    Bloomberg Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco’s biggest lender, is planning to complete expansions in East and West Africa this year as it focuses on consolidating its new acquisitions to spur growth. The Casablanca-based bank aims to finalize a deal to buy Rwanda’s Cie Generale de Banque, known as Cogebanque, start commercial banking operations in Chad and apply for a banking license ...

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• 8 May

  Alawwal bank named Saudi’s ‘Best Retail Bank’

    Riyadh / Emirates Business Alawwal bank was named the ‘Best Retail Bank’ in Saudi Arabia 2017 at the Asian Bankers, International Finance Excellence Awards held at the Ritz Carlton in Dubai on 20 April. The award recognises Alawwal bank’s customer centric approach and focus on innovation in products, services and its digital channels. “We are delighted and honoured to ...

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• 8 May

  Etihad appoints interim Group CEO, CFO

  

    Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business The Etihad Aviation Group Board of Directors on Monday appointed Ray Gammell as interim Group CEO, and confirmed that James Hogan, current President and Group CEO, will leave the company on July 1. Consistent with the company’s leadership transition plan, Gammell will assume full management responsibilities from today. Gammell is Etihad Aviation Group’s current ...

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• 8 May

  Southwest to spend $500mn to update ‘old’ technology

  

    Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. plans to shift its domestic reservation system to a new platform on Tuesday, attempting to avoid the havoc that plagued similar transitions at other carriers. “These are very complicated,” said Bob Edwards, a former chief information officer at United Airlines who supervised the merger of reservation systems for United and Continental in 2012. “All of ...

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• 8 May

  WestJet charts long-haul course with $5.4bn of Dreamliners

  

    Bloomberg WestJet Airlines Ltd. plans to order as many as 20 Boeing Co. 787-9 Dreamliners valued at $5.4 billion, adding the wide-body to its fleet as Canada’s second-biggest carrier expands long-distance service. The move takes a page from Air Canada, which has relied on the Dreamliner’s fuel efficiency to lower operating costs. The order also helps clarify WestJet’s strategy ...

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• 8 May

  Qatar Air becomes World Cup sponsor for FIFA

  

    Bloomberg Qatar Airways Ltd. signed an agreement with FIFA to sponsor two World Cup tournaments until 2022, filling a spot left vacant by Emirates when it quit its sponsorship following corruption allegations at soccer’s global governing body. The state-owned carrier will become FIFA’s official partner and airline for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and 2022 World Cup in ...

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• 8 May

  JD.com posts first profit as Chinese online shopping surges

  

    Bloomberg JD.com Inc. posted its first quarterly profit as a public company with the integration of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Chinese web business and strong consumer spending driving a surge in sales. China’s largest e-commerce company after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has benefited from the rise of online shopping in a country with patchy retail infrastructure. JD, which bought Wal-Mart’s ...

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• 7 May

  Macron defeats Le Pen to become French president in boost to EU

  

    Bloomberg Emmanuel Macron beat the anti-euro nationalist Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential election. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, leads Le Pen by about 65 percent to 35 percent, according to the estimates of four separate pollsters. The firms sampled real votes as they were being counted and weighted their results to reflect the composition of the French electorate. Their ...

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