World Bank Chief takes swipe at Microsoft’s $69 BLN gaming deal
World Bank President David Malpass criticized Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of gaming developer Activision Blizzard as a questionable allocation of capital. This is when poor countries are struggling to restructure debts and fight poverty. Malpass said during a Peterson Institute for International Economics virtual event that more capital needed to flow into poor countries. But these flows […]
Bank of England to get more powers
The Bank of England will get more powers to set direct requirements for clearing and settlement houses. This is as a part of a wider regulatory revamp because of Brexit. This was proposed by the UK finance ministry. The BoE has very limited powers to set direct regulations for clearing and settlement. These processes that ensure that […]
Amancio Ortega buys Toronto’s Royal Bank Plaza
Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega agreed to buy Royal Bank Plaza. It houses their headquarters of Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest bank, in Toronto for around 800 million euros ($916.88 million). Pontegadea, the family office of the main shareholder of fashion group Inditex, confirmed the deal to buy the landmark Canadian skyscraper. They famed for a […]
Bank of England aims to print books
The Bank of England will publish a book aimed at improving the British public’s understanding of economics later this year. Its title will be “Can’t we just print more money?”. The BoE ended an 895-billion-pound ($1.2 trillion) programme of bond purchases. A policy often dubbed money printing and which critics blame for fuelling inflation. BoE […]
Community banks turns on forex services
Historically, there has been a significant barrier to entry for community banks and credit unions to fulfil their customers’ foreign exchange (forex) transaction needs. They lack in the technology platforms and the in-house forex expertise. Hence, they have had to rely on correspondent banks to service their customers. The fast-growing fintech sector is bringing forex […]
All options to be explored by Italy’s Pop Sondrio
Italy’s Banca Popolare di Sondrio’s CEO said that it is open to exploring all options for its future. This is after shareholders approved long-delayed governance changes that could open the mutual bank up to a merger. Yet Mario Pedranzini stressed that, while M&A was an option, Popolare di Sondrio was a healthy lender that did not need […]
Almost $10 MLN fined by Deutsche bank over Euribor controls
German financial regulator BaFin has fined Deutsche Bank nearly $10 million for controls which is related to the Euribor interest rate. This is in a setback for the nation’s largest lender as it seeks to restore its reputation. The 8.66 million euro $9.77 million fine announced on Wednesday is the first imposed by BaFin under a 2018 […]
Alpha bank agrees sale of ban loan portfolio
Alpha Bank is one of Greece’s four biggest lenders. It entered into a binding agreement with Hoist Finance AB to sell non-performing loans with a book value of 1.3 billion euros ($1.47 billion). In a press the bank said that, the Orbit portfolio relates to retail unsecured non-performing loans with the sale expected to be completed […]
Mizuho bank acquires 7.5% stake
Japan’s Mizuho Bank is going to acquire a 7.5 percent stake in the M-Service company. This is to leverage the Vietnamese company’s retail business. The bank is expected to invest up to $170 million by the end of 2021. Reports indicated that Mizuho Bank has been lagging behind its peers in overseas investment. With their […]
ECB set to dial back stimulus one more notch
The European Central Bank is all but certain to dial back its stimulus one more notch. This is while pledging to keep supporting the financial system, by sticking to its long-held view that alarmingly high inflation will abate on its own. There is pressure mounting on the bank to follow its global peers in turning off the money taps. […]