Banking

EU edges closer to ending ‘too-big-to-fail’ banks by 2024

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - The European Union's body for dismantling failed banks said on Wednesday it would ratchet up pressure on lenders over the coming months to bolster their defences so…

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Poland’s Kaczynski tells banks to give savers higher interest or expect more taxes

WARSAW, July 2 (Reuters) - Polish banks .BNKI will be taxed more if they don't offer clients higher interest on their deposits, the leader of Poland's ruling party said on Saturday, intensifying government pressure…

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UK bank losses from complex scams surge 40%

LONDON (Reuters) - British bank customers were tricked out of 583 million pounds ($712 million) stolen through sophisticated fraud in 2021, up nearly 40% on the prior year, according to data published…

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Basel revises bank crypto capital plan to include blockchain

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - Banks should take a conservative approach to setting aside capital to cover risks from "unbacked" crypto assets on their books, the global Basel Committee of banking regulators…

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Volt, Australia’s first online-only bank, shuts down due to fund-raising woes

June 29 (Reuters) - Volt Bank Ltd, the first exclusively online bank to gain an Australian banking licence, said it would shut down, returning deposits and selling its mortgage book as it…

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Banking body BIS urges decisive wave of global rate hikes to stem inflation

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - The world's central bank umbrella body, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has called for interest rates to be raised "quickly and decisively" to prevent the surge…

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Euro zone banks finally making progress on climate issues: ECB

FRANKFURT, June 22 (Reuters) - Banks across the euro zone are making "tangible" progress in managing climate risk but could still take years to meet the European Central Bank's expectations, ECB board…

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UK and Italian banks to benefit most from rising rates, study shows

British and Italian banks are expected to see the biggest boost from Europe's rising interest rates, according to a new study, while French and Dutch lenders will see barely any…

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UK banks no longer too big to fail, says BoE

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is satisfied lenders have taken steps to ensure they are no longer "too big to fail" in any future crisis, it said on…

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Polish banks team up to create protection scheme

June 8 (Reuters) - The biggest commercial banks in Poland have teamed up to create a protection scheme to help ensure their liquidity and solvency, the banks said on Tuesday. Alior Bank ALRR.WA,…

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HSBC profit falls on credit charges as economic outlook worsens

HSBC's profit fell by less than expected in the first-quarter but Europe's biggest bank warned that more share buybacks were unlikely this year as rising inflation and economic weakness had…

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Banks tiptoe into EU tussle over reining in foreign lenders

Banks have begun quietly trying to persuade the European Union to tone down proposals to toughen scrutiny of non-EU lenders to ensure the planned measures don't also curb companies' access to international finance. Surprise EU proposals to…

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Turkey’s banks resist Russian customers, Russians arriving in Turkey with cash since invasion began

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Newly arrived Russians in Turkey are struggling to make deposits and transfers at banks that are taking a careful and sceptical approach for fear of contravening Western sanctions on…

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FACTBOX-U.S. banks in Russia by the numbers

NEW YORK, (Reuters) - Major U.S. banks have started announcing plans to wind down operations in Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine and retaliatory sanctions. On Thursday, Goldman Sachs…

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Europe’s banks reveal billions worth of Russia risk as sanctions bite

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse said it had gross exposure to Russia of 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($1.73 billion) at end 2021, the latest European bank to reveal the size…

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Explainer: Which international banks are exposed to Russia?

The latest wave of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has thrown the global banking industry deeper into turmoil, as Western countries try to squeeze Moscow's access to…

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EXPLAINER – Europe’s banks fear payment system could be casualty of Russia-Ukraine crisis

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Italy's UniCredit has backed out of a potential acquisition in Russia and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International has set aside…

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Top EU banks to publish ‘pioneering’ climate data

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Large banks in the European Union will have to show how they help or hinder the bloc from meeting climate goals by publishing "pioneering" indicators…

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Some European banks put off decision to move forward with new payments system

Some European banks are holding off on a decision to move forward with a new payments project that is intended be a home-grown rival to Mastercard and Visa, the company…

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EU Commission launches public consultation on the Mortgage Credit Directive review

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the Mortgage Credit Directive review. The Commission is seeking views on the functioning of and possible improvements to the existing framework.…

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EU pledges ‘faithful’ application of global bank capital rules from 2025

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The European Union published draft laws on Wednesday to "faithfully" implement the final batch of tougher global bank capital rules from 2025, two years later…

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EXCLUSIVE-HSBC moves more than 1,200 UK staff to permanent home working

LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - HSBC is moving more than 1,200 staff in Britain to permanent working from home contracts, in one of the strongest indications yet of how banks…

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BOV closes a number of branches, reduces services in others

Following the introduction of additional measures by the Government in light of developments related to COVID-19, particularly the increase in positive cases and the closure of schools and child care…

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Banks in EU to publish world’s first “green” yardstick from next year

Banks in the European Union would have to publish a groundbreaking "green asset ratio" (GAR) as a core measure of their climate-friendly business activities from next year, the EU's banking…

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ESAS’ Board of Appeal dismisses case against the EBA on alleged non-application of Union Law as manifestly inadmissible

The Joint Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs – European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and European Securities and Markets Authority) published today its decision in…

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EIB and Egypt work together to support private businesses and speed up the recovery of SMEs from COVID-19

The European Investment Bank is providing Banque Misr with a €425 million credit line to support Egyptian private small and medium-sized enterprises that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and boost their ability…

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Revolut accused of not paying out bonuses to employees

Popular digital bank Revolut has found itself in the limelight for the wrong reasons after failing to pay bonsues to its compliance employees, sparking a row which resulted in a…

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Italy business lobbies urge EU to ease credit default rules

Italy's main banking and industry associations have urged European Union authorities to temporarily ease EU bank rules on loan defaults and credit provisioning to help businesses cope with the impact…

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China could restrict bank tie-ups with fintech platforms, official suggests

BEIJING, Dec 20 (Reuters) - China's former finance minister Lou Jiwei suggested that China could restrict the number of banks a single fintech platform can partner with, to prevent any…

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British customers in EU will lose bank account if no deal is reached

Major UK banking companies are informing their British customers living in the European Union that their bank accounts will be closed by end of the year should no post-Brexit trade…

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Italian banks’ lending to businesses, domestic bond holdings up in July

Italian banks increased both their lending to firms and their domestic government bond holdings in July, data showed on Wednesday. A monthly Bank of Italy report on domestic banks' balance…

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Comuniq.EU – Banking

by Keith Zahra The European Central Bank has told banks not to pay any dividend payments until at least January and urged them to be “extremely moderate” when setting…

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Italian banks’ lending to businesses jumps in June, deposits grow

Italian banks increased their lending to companies in June, as business resumed after a government-imposed national lockdown was gradually lifted, data showed on Monday. A monthly Bank of Italy report…

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Britain’s banks brace for $22 billion loan losses as outlook darkens

Britain's banks took a gloomier view than almost all their European peers in their second quarter earnings, as coronavirus fears, Brexit and low interest rates caused them to bake tougher…

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HSBC first-half profit plunges 65%, warns loan losses could hit $13 bln

HSBC Holdings PLC warned of rising bad debt charges and a falling core capital ratio after posting a higher-than-expected 65% tumble in first-half pre-tax profit as the coronavirus pandemic hit…

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EU recovery plan will stimulate mergers between European banks – Santander

The European leaders' agreement on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus battered economies should help kick-start cross-border consolidation in Europe and complete the European banking union, Santander Chairman Ana Botin said. "What…

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EU Banking Authority seeks way to enhance Bank recovery and resolution

The European Banking Authority has launched a discussion paper exploring ways on how to enhance the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) framework on early intervention measures. The objective is…

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Spain’s banks look to make lockdown branch closures permanent

As Spain reopens after the COVID-19 crisis, its banking industry is seizing the opportunity to shrink its swollen branch network which has long been a drag on profitability, with just…

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Dubai’s largest bank Emirates NBD begins new round of job cuts

Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest bank, began cutting hundreds of jobs this week after the impact of the coronavirus crisis accelerated planned lay-offs, three sources said. Although the full scale of…

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HSBC to resume cutting around 35,000 jobs

HSBC is resuming a massive redundancy plan it had put on ice after the coronavirus outbreak, and will cut 35,000 jobs over the medium term, a memo seen by Reuters…

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UAE banks risk rise in bad loans

United Arab Emirates banks are at risk from a spike in bad loans over the next one to two years as the oil-producing economy is hit by a "triple…

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Santander to appoint HSBC’s Simoes as regional head of Europe

Spain's Santander announced the appointment of Antonio Simoes, head of global private banking at HSBC, as its regional chief for Europe at a time when the euro zone's No. 2…

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Commerzbank swings to worse-than-expected Q1 loss as pandemic bites

Germany's Commerzbank said on Wednesday it swung to a loss in the first quarter, as the lender undergoes restructuring and dealt with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The bank…

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EU Commission adopts banking package to facilitate lending to households and businesses in the EU

The Commission has today adopted a banking package to help facilitate bank lending to households and businesses throughout the European Union. The aim of this package is to ensure that…

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Malta: Banks say they have no details on how subsidised business loans will work

Maltese banks have not been provided details of how a government scheme to subsidise interest rates for businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic will function, their association said on Saturday.…

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Maltese Banks announce initiatives to support clients during COVID-19 crisis

Major banks in Malta have over the past few days launched a number of initiatives to support their personal and business clients during these challenging times. International banking regulatory authorities…

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Big banks brace for the coronavirus

Many of the City of London's biggest institutions are taking steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus. On Monday many of JPMorgan's UK-based staff are being temporarily moved…

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Founder of India’s fifth-biggest private sector bank arrested

The founder of Yes Bank, Rana Kapoor, was arrested on Sunday on allegations of money laundering, after being questioned for over 20 hours by Indian authorities. "He has been arrested…

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Intesa Sanpaolo bid to take over rival UBI Banca

Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has launched a bid to take over its rival, UBI Banca for 4.9 billion Euros. Italian Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said Wednesday Intesa Sanpaolo's planned takeover…

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Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to change its name

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) says it is to change its name to NatWest Group later this year as it commits to a new future following the taxpayer bailout of…

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Italian banks closing Iranian citizens’ accounts over US sanctions

Several Italian banks have closed or imposed restrictions on accounts held by Iranian citizens citing US sanctions against Iran and putting some people in a delicate financial situation. Several European…

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German digital bank N26 pulls out of UK, blames Brexit

The German digital bank N26 is has blamed Brexit for its decision to pull out of the UK and close more than 200,000 customer accounts. The lender has given customers…

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HSBC UK staff morale low in view of job cuts

Morale of the staff working at HSBC (in the UK) is low after its boss was ousted and staff prepare for a wave of job cuts, according to an internal…

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Italian bank UniCredit to lay off 6000 and close 450 branches

Italy's biggest bank UniCredit is to lay off 6000 staff in Italy and close 450 branches, it told unions on Monday. The payoffs and closures are contained in a 2019-2023…

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Visa backs payments start-up that powers popular fintech apps like Monzo and Revolut

Financial technology start-up Currencycloud, which powers cross-border payments for a number of popular finance apps, has raised $80 million in a funding round backed by Visa. Based in the U.K.,…

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Lloyds Banking Group and Microsoft form partnership to accelerate bank’s digital transformation strategy

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft focused on accelerating LBG’s digital transformation. As part of the LBG’s commitment to invest £3 billion in technology, the…

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Financial institution failed to raise alarm over huge write-down of frozen Libyan assets

Abu Dhabi’s The National reports that a financial institution responsible for a huge write-down in the value of Libyan frozen assets held in the UK remains under investigation after it…

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