NEW YORK (Reuters) – Major U.S. bank executives this week said they extended forbearance programs to millions of credit card, auto loan and mortgage customers who were financially hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. While that is good news for customers who ... More »
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – Sixteen banks from Germany, France and three other euro zone countries on Thursday said a “truly European” payments system was expected to be up and running in 2022 to fully digitalise a region where half of all retail payments are sti... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is lowering the bar for bank mergers in the euro zone, hoping to encourage an elusive wave of consolidation in a sector plagued by low profits and unresolved issues inherited from the last financial crisis. In a ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Monday it was resuming its normal bank examination activities, after easing back at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. The Fed announced in March it was reducing some exam activities and focusing o... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is contemplating whether to extend a request to banks to hold off on dividend payments and share buybacks, and hopes to provide more clarity in July, Andrea Enria, its chief bank supervisor said on Tuesday. The E... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Like the myriad approaches governments are taking to tackle the coronavirus crisis, the way the world’s top banks are calculating their potential losses also differs widely, with puzzling outcomes for investors. These discrepancies are roote... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – As Germany rolls out a 750 billion-euro economic stimulus package, officials and experts are discussing whether German lenders, including Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, will be able to weather the economic fallout of coronavirus wit... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. banks are expected to defend their dividend payments when they submit their annual capital plans to the Federal Reserve on Monday for the upcoming stress tests, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the s... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s largest state banks said the impact of restrictions on movement imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus could pull down asset quality as borrowers struggle to repay loans, though they are likely big enough to weather ... More »
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank told euro zone banks on Friday to skip dividend payments and share buybacks until October at the earliest and use their profits to support the economy as it is hit by the coronavirus pandemic. With large p... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan eased monetary policy on Monday by pledging to buy risky assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETF) at double the current pace, joining global central banks in combating the widening economic fallout from the coronavirus epi... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve and its global counterparts moved aggressively with sweeping emergency rate cuts and offers of cheap dollars to help combat the coronavirus pandemic that has jolted markets and paralyzed large parts of the world econ... More »
(Reuters) – The Bank of Japan eased monetary policy on Monday by pledging to buy risky assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETF) at double the current pace, joining global central banks in combating the widening economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian antitrust investigator who helped bring criminal cartel charges against Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE) denied acting with “impropriety” when presented with communications between the regulator and informant... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The euro zone’s top bank supervisor blamed a “mess” of diverging laws across the bloc on Tuesday for the European Central Bank’s failure to stop Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, who is suspected of fraud, from controlling a bank in ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – New York remains the world’s top financial center, pushing London further into second place as Brexit uncertainty undermines the UK capital and Asian centers catch up, a survey from consultants Duff & Phelps said on Monday. Britain will leav... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Consumer lending is expected to propel profits for big U.S. banks when they unveil fourth-quarter results this week, though stress in corporate lending and uneven capital markets may cast a shadow over results. Balances for individual borr... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – The Bank of Italy “positively” fulfilled its supervision duties and is ready to account for its actions on failing lender Banca Popolare di Bari, Governor Ignazio Visco told Corriere della Sera daily in an interview published on Monday. Prose... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. banking regulators said on Tuesday that lenders must have robust compliance tools in place to ensure “responsible use” of non-traditional sources of financial data to help determine whether a potential customer is credit worthy. In ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. consumer watchdog on Tuesday proposed making permanent an exemption that allows certain banks and credit unions to estimate the international remittance fees they charge consumers in instances when it may be too expensive for th... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A Lebanese bank employees’ union called on bank staff to go on strike from Tuesday because of safety concerns, the president of the Federation of Syndicates of Banks Employees said. George al Hajj said the decision had been taken on Monday a... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British regulators should impose higher levies on banks if they need more resources to stop big IT glitches and should consider regulating cloud service providers such as Google, UK lawmakers said in a review on Monday. The review was launch... More »
PARIS, (Reuters) – New regulations are forcing French banks to step up sales of bad loans even though their balance sheets are healthier than rivals in southern Europe, a study by Deloitte showed on Monday. European financial regulators are putting pressure on... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s banking regulator on Tuesday said it plans to ask lenders to meet higher capital levels domestically to offset their exposure to large overseas units – a move that comes in response to plans by New Zealand to hike capital ratios ... More »
WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish banks will face costs of 20 billion to 30 billion zlotys ($5.1-$7.6 billion) due to the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) ruling on Swiss-franc mortgages, Polish rate-setter Eugeniusz Gatnar told news agency PAP in comments published ... More »
(Reuters) – Australia’s corporate regulator said on Wednesday it has been conducting long-term on-site monitoring at the offices of major banks and wealth manager AMP Ltd (AMP.AX) since October, after a probe into the sector revealed wide-ranging misconduct. T... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump held a conference call on Wednesday with the chief executives of the three largest Wall Street banks as financial markets were in turmoil, one source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. JPMorgan (JP... More »
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Switzerland’s supreme court on Friday voted in favor of handing over historical data on over 40,000 UBS clients to French authorities in a landmark ruling. Three of the five judges voted in favor of overthrowing the lower cour... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s major banks have seen a growing number of business customers delay decisions on investments and borrowing in recent weeks, as the probability of a disorderly exit from the European Union inches higher. Britain’s banks have largely ... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s Big Four lenders are pushing back on the regulator’s plan to require banks make detailed credit checks on borrowers to estimate loan affordability instead of relying on indices, with the No.2 lender saying such checks are not fea... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s biggest lender, UniCredit (CRDI.MI), will stick to organic growth in its new business plan, Chief Executive Jean Pierre Mustier said in an interview published in La Stampa newspaper on Monday, saying European mergers were difficult. “... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Italian mid-sized lender Creval said on Tuesday it would spin off its bad debts into a separate unit and sell half of them, in order to roughly halve its gross soured loan ratio to below 6.5% in 2023. Presenting a five-year business plan unde... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investment banks are beefing up trading teams in markets such as gas, metals and carbon permits that are flourishing as businesses and economies become greener, according to recruitment consultants. The shift in staffing at the world’s bigge... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian law firm filed a class action lawsuit on Monday against five major international investment banks accusing them of colluding to rig foreign exchange rates during 2008-2013 to jack up profits at the expense of businesses and inv... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp will not have to immediately hand over the financial records of U.S. President Donald Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization, according to a court filing on Saturday. The f... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian bank shares posted their biggest rally in a decade on Monday as a surprise conservative election win eased regulation fears, though a housing downturn and strict rules baked in since a misconduct inquiry could temper longer-term b... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone banks are turning away from cross-border activity, putting at risk the bloc’s banking union and raising the risk of dangerous fragmentation, European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Thursday. With national ru... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two committees of the Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday asked to intervene in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, his three oldest children and the Trump Organization seeking to block House subpoenas seekin... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s biggest lender UniCredit said it is among a group of banks accused of running a cartel in trading euro zone government bonds between 2007 and 2012, years when financial crises dragged down banks and several European countries. UniCred... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s corporate watchdog rebuked the biggest banks and financial services firms on Monday for delays in fixing internal systems that resulted in customers paying fees for services they had not received. The Australian Securities and In... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank’s fourth round of cheap long-term loans targeted at banks may steer euro zone lenders away from a cliff edge in funding. But it is a symptom of, rather than a cure for, the bloc’s economic malaise that appears to... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Wednesday that European Union “bail-in” rules covering failing banks should be scrapped. Tria told parliament he agreed with comments by Antonio Patuelli, the head of Italy’s banking lobby, who ea... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Major banks are still not ready for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit as they grapple with delays in licences for new European Union businesses, staffing problems and snags in redrafting contracts. Despite thousands of staff working on preparations for mor... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A key euro zone banking supervision role is set to go unfilled for an indefinite time after ECB chief Mario Draghi failed to pick a successor in an unprecedented impasse at the crucial euro zone institution, sources familiar with the matt... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Rating agency S&P Global expects the amount of bad loans on Turkish banks’ books to double over the next 12-18 months and their total credit losses to rise to as much as 2.5 percent from the recent average of 1.4 percent. In a new report pub... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone banks which issued large amounts of loss-absorbing debt under English law could have more time to meet requirements after Britain leaves the European Union, the bloc’s agency responsible to winding down failing lenders said on Th... More »
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Clients at some banks in Finland have faced problems with the use of their payment cards on Sunday, payment firm Nets said. “The problems affected card transactions and online banking at some banks in Finland. It was related to a network i... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The ongoing public inquiry into the scandal-ridden Australian finance sector is too narrow in scope, a politician who had campaigned for the so-called Royal Commission said during hearings on Tuesday. The complaint from Bob Katter, a lower h... More »
(This version of the story corrects end-March soured loan level to 20.5 percent (not 24.6 pct) in para. 10) MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s third largest bank, Banco BPM, is looking to sell part of its debt servicing unit as it strives to meet its bad-loan reduction... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Italy must present the European Commission with a plan for its exit from lender Monte dei Paschi (BMPS.MI) by 2019, Chief Executive Marco Morelli told daily Corriere della Sera. Last year, the Commission and Italy reached a pact on a state ba... More »
(Reuters) – After two years of sharp gains for U.S. bank stocks, investors betting on another big boost for 2018 may be disappointed unless loan growth accelerates or regulations slacken considerably. The S&P 500 bank sector index .SPXBK beat first quarter ear... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia authorized its first banking license to an internet-only startup on Monday, a step the banking regulator said it hoped would improve competition in a sector dominated by four major lenders. The Australian Prudential Regulation Auth... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ.AX) said it would stop paying financial planners bonuses for selling its products, the first of the country’s top lenders to change business practices amid a powerful inquiry into misconduct i... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s AMP Ltd (AMP.AX) denied allegations it had submitted a doctored report to a regulator and committed a criminal offense, saying an inquiry into the country’s financial sector had overstated the wealth manager’s involvement. The re... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone banks continued to cut their pile of soured debt in the final quarter of last year, European Central Bank data showed on Monday, working away on a key legacy of the bloc’s debt crisis which has weighed on growth and bank profits... More »
(Reuters) – Litigation financier IMF Bentham Ltd said on Monday that it plans to fund a class action against AMP Ltd, Australia’s largest listed wealth manager. IMF said the investment involves a proposed class action by certain current and former AMP sharehol... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Rothschild said on Friday that it had hired leading French banker Francois Perol, luring him away from his previous position at the head of BPCE, the country’s second-biggest bank. BPCE had earlier said on Thursday that Perol, who had worked ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Emboldened by President Trump’s pledge to loosen laws introduced following the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, U.S. banks are pushing to scrap or revise more than a dozen other lesser-known rules they say are outdated, costly and hurt... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s financial firms need to pull together to fight cyber crime, working with government and law enforcement to attack criminals’ infrastructure and put them out of business, a report by KPMG and industry body UK Finance said on Monday.... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Quirks in the new U.S. tax code are sowing doubts over how much big banks can boost dividends and stock buybacks this year, threatening to take the shine off what are likely to be strong quarterly profits. Changes in how companies can meas... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – More Indian companies are likely to default on their borrowings in the fiscal year that started in April compared with the previous year on higher interest costs and a deterioration in business conditions, according to rating agency ICRA. Th... More »
FILE PHOTO: The logo for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia adorns their head office in central Sydney, Australia October 12, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) – A government-backed inquiry into Australia’s finance sector on Monday said it w... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Big U.S. banks are spending millions of dollars to promote Zelle, their digital payment service, by running commercials on major sports games and entertainment shows, as well as a YouTube campaign painting the app as simple and ubiquitous.... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – GLMX has raised $20 million in financing and updated its high-tech platform for trading repurchase agreements and secured lending to help clients comply with new regulatory reporting requirements, the company said on Thursday. The rise of ... More »
The European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters are pictured in Frankfurt, Germany December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski FRANKFURT (Reuters) – One euro zone bank is falling short of the European Central Bank’s capital requirements, the ECB said on Monday, mea... More »
The Union Flag and a European Union flag fly near the Elizabeth Tower, housing the Big Ben bell, during the anti-Brexit ‘People’s March for Europe’, in Parliament Square in central London, Britain September 9, 2017. REUTERS/Tolga Akmen LONDON (Reuters) – Banke... More »
FILE PHOTO: A branch location of Fifth Third Bank is shown in Boca Raton, Florida, January 21, 2010. REUTERS/Joe Skipper (Reuters) – Squeezed by lower loan growth as interest rates finally begin to rise, regional U.S. banks have been giving more financial advi... More »
Bitcoin (virtual currency) coins placed on Dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration picture, November 6, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Central bankers say the success of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is just a bubble. B... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – The value of assets held by China’s banking sector rose 10.0 percent to 241.58 trillion yuan ($36.61 trillion) as of end-October compared with a year earlier, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on Monday. Liabilities rose 1... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s banking regulator said on Friday that it has issued draft guidelines for commercial banks to better manage their interest rate risks, as China pushes forward with its interest rate liberalization reform. New rules have details on ba... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A rebel member of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s coalition government is circulating a draft bill to step up pressure for an official inquiry into the country’s scandal-hit banks. Although the prime minister has staked much pol... More »
A general view shows the aerial subway and the city rooftops in Paris February 24, 2015. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – The surprise decision to move the European Banking Authority to Paris will boost its chances of attracting London banks af... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Rebel government lawmakers in Australia vowed on Monday to force a powerful inquiry into the country’s scandal-hit banking sector, further turmoil for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as he languishes in the polls amid a citizenship crisis. T... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A top U.S. bank regulator has been working to ensure that examiners on the ground have a lighter touch with institutions they scrutinize, but change will take more time, acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika said in an interview... More »
FILE PHOTO: A man stands in front of CITIC bank’s branch in Beijing, China, March 23, 2016.REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon BEIJING (Reuters) – China Citic Bank Corp (601998.SS) and search engine giant Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) launched on Saturday a direct banking joint ventu... More »
Copies of tax legislation are seen during a markup on the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global banks raised concerns on Friday over a provision in the U.S. Sena... More »
The European Central Bank should scrap plans for industry-wide rules to force banks to clean up bad loans, the head of the European Parliament's influential economic affairs committee said on Friday, as lawmakers dug in their heels in a dispute. More »
With the announcement of Jerome Powell as the new Federal Reserve Chair, banks are likely to see a battle between a boost from deregulation supported by the new Fed leader and the challenge of a flattening yield curve as monetary policy is likely to remain on ... More »
A new investigation of Italian banking scandals by a parliamentary commission has already revealed some improper behavior, the commission's chairman, Pier Ferdinando Casini, told the newspaper La Repubblica in an interview. More »
While most London-based bankers are brushing up on their German to prepare for a move to Frankfurt post-Brexit, senior staff at French investment banks expect to say "Oui" to government pressure to bring jobs home to Paris. More »
Credit Agricole's (CAGR.PA) chief, Philippe Brassac, has expressed interest in Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) if the German lender were to be up for sale, according to an interview with the Handelsblatt newspaper. More »
The European Central Bank will ask euro zone banks from next year to set aside more cash to cover newly classified bad loans and may also present additional measures to tackle the sector's huge stock of bad debt, it said on Wednesday. More »
Australia's prudential regulator should be given powers as soon as October to cap bank executives' salaries, delay their bonuses and drive them out of the industry if they were guilty of wrongdoing, Treasurer Scott Morrison said on Monday. More »
Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd has overtaken Goldman Sachs to break into the top three banks for commodities business, having significantly expanded its U.S. energy operations in recent years while rivals cut back. More »
A consortium of U.S. banks is taking another step next week to attract a critical mass of users to their Zelle network, a rival to PayPal's Venmo for handling instant payments between individuals with smartphones. More »
Some 60 to 70 Swiss private banks are facing serious problems that could force them to close down or sell up, according to a study published on Thursday by consultancy KPMG. More »
Revenue at the world’s 12 largest investment banks rose in the first six months of 2017 thanks to a stronger performance in the underwriting of debt and equity issues compared with a year ago, a survey showed on Thursday. More »
I'm here to send you the regards of the Federal Chancellor. I am entitled to tell you we want you in Germany. This private message from Angela Merkel, delivered by a regional politician to Wall Street bankers last year, is having the desired effect. More »
China's banking regulator has extended by two months a June deadline for banks to submit risk assessments over concerns it was putting strain on the lenders, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. More »
FILE PHOTO – A Chinese national flag flutters outside the headquarters of the People’s Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, in Beijing, April 3, 2014. China’s central bank has found 40 banks in violation of interbank account regulations and have ordered th... More »
New accounting rules for banks risk exacerbating economic crises by making them reluctant to lend if the economy suddenly worsens, the European Union’s financial stability watchdog said on Monday. More »
The J.P.Morgan logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London,Britain, March 3, 2016. U.S. banks are starting to see some long-awaited benefits of higher interest rates, with four of the largest lenders beating analysts’ quarterly p... More »
FILE PHOTO — People walk beneath a Citibank branch logo in the financial district of San Francisco, California July 17, 2009. Three of the six biggest U.S. banks kicked off the earnings season on Friday, reporting profits that topped Street estimates but faile... More »
The logo of Toshiba Corp is seen behind cherry blossoms at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan April 11, 2017. Crisis-hit Toshiba Corp has regained access to a crucial $6 billion credit line after stumping up shares in its chip unit as collateral but it... More »
A Bank Of America sign is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York August 21, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri U.S. authorities have tried to seize millions of dollars associated with several companies that deal with North Korea, including the country’s milita... More »
People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Eric Thayer For the fourth straight quarter, several of the biggest U.S. banks are reporting earnings on the same day, setting up a situation that overwhelms analysts cover... More »
A Banca Popolare di Vicenza sign is seen in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi Italy’s multi-billion-euro closure of two lenders drew sharp criticism on Monday for hurting a project devised to underpin confidence in the euro zone during th... More »
FILE PHOTO: Intesa Sanpaolo bank logo is seen at the headquarters during shareholders’ meeting in Turin, Italy, April 27, 2017. REUTERS/Giorgio Perottino/File Photo Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) said on Monday its planned acquisition of the good assets of Banca Pop... More »
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is displayed outside a branch in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Surprise taxes levied on Australia’s banking sector are frightening off potential foreign investo... More »
FILE PHOTO: An employee of GSA Austria ( Money Service Austria ) holds a wad of new 100 euro banknotes at the company’s headquarters in Vienna July 22, 2013. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger Although a better economy is helping global banks to turn the corner a decade ... More »
