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☆ Instant view: India's Adani slammed by $48 bln stock rout, clouding record share sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COMMENTARYJ.P.MORGAN"While the Hindenburg report focused mainly on equity valuations within the group, we are primarily concerned about the underlying credit profiles of group companies given underlying bank exposures. Clearly given the size of the group and outstanding debt, this has also impacted the banks." So if a report comes and stocks see a sharp fall, lot of margin calls also get triggered. At least 40% of the group's debt is exposed to Indian banks, so that exposure is what people are worried about in banks. Reporting by Rama Venkat and Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Rome has been working to renew the "GACS" scheme, which expired in June, while also tightening the terms under which the state provides guarantees to investors who buy bad bank loans repackaged as securities. Under the new terms agreed with the EU, the scheme would cover 80% instead of 100% of the least risky tranche in bad debt securitisation deals, the sources said. The Treasury had also considered hiking a credit rating threshold needed for the senior tranche to qualify for the GACS guarantees, but is instead leaving it unchanged, one of the sources said. Since its launch in 2016, the GACS scheme has rid Italian banks of 117 billion euros ($127 billion) in bad debts by softening the hit from disposals to their earnings. Italy had already tightened the GACS terms in 2019, raising the senior tranche's minimum rating and introducing mechanisms to prod debt collection companies to stick to business plans.

☆ Nigeria launches domestic card scheme in cashless bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ABUJA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank on Thursday launched a domestic card scheme to rival foreign cards like Mastercard and Visa, hoping to enhance its drive to make Africa's biggest economy a cashless society and save the country foreign transaction fees. The announcement by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele follows the bank's decision last year to phase out old higher denomination bank notes. Emefiele told a virtual launch of the "AfriGo" card scheme that although penetration of card payments in Nigeria had grown over the years, many citizens remained excluded. AfriGo is owned by CBN and Nigerian banks and Emefiele said that Nigeria was joining China, Russia, India and Turkey in launching a domestic card scheme. International card service providers like Mastercard and Visa would not be stopped in Nigeria, he added.

☆ Bankrupt Brazilian retailer Americanas owes about $8 bln, court finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) owes a variety of creditors around $8 billion, a Rio de Janeiro court said on Wednesday, providing the most detailed picture yet of the banks and other groups exposed to the company's bankruptcy. The list provided on Wednesday includes roughly 41.2 billion reais ($8.1 billion) in debt, according to the court, which initially did not disclose the names of the creditors. Brazilian banks BTG Pactual (BPAC3.SA), Bradesco (BBDC4.SA) and Santander Brasil (SANB3.SA) - which analysts previously said were among the most exposed - were also listed, with debts of more than 3.5 billion reais each. Earlier this week, Capital International Investors also announced it had reduced its position in Americanas to 4.07% from 7.04%. Shares in Americanas were up 20% to 0.96 real on Wednesday, but still down roughly 90% year-to-date.

☆ Brazilian retailer Americanas reports 7,720 creditors, $8 bln in debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) reported 7,720 creditors and debt totaling nearly $8 billion within its restructuring process, a Rio de Janeiro court said on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) topped the list of creditors initially revealed by Americanas, but the German lender later said it had no lending relationship or credit exposure to the Brazilian company. The list provided on Wednesday included roughly 41.2 billion reais ($8.1 billion) in debt, according to the court, which initially did not disclose the names of the creditors. Later, however, Americanas revealed the full list in a securities filing, ranging from small debts with individuals and cities to multibillion-reais debts with banks. Deutsche Bank appeared with a $1 billion debt, but said in an emailed statement that it had no direct exposure to the Brazilian firm.

☆ India's Kotak Mahindra Bank's Oct-Dec net profit jumps 31%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Jan 21(Reuters) - India's Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS) on Saturday reported a 31% increase in standalone net profit for the October-December quarter, aided by a strong topline and healthy loan growth. The private lender's standalone profit stood at 27.92 billion rupees ($344.2 million) compared with 21.31 billion rupees in the same period last year. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, rose 30.4% from a year ago to 56.53 billion rupees, while other income rose nearly 54%. The net interest margin was at 5.47% as compared to 4.62% last year. As of Dec. 31, the bank held Covid-related provisions worth four billion rupees.

☆ Intesa reassures on capital distribution after asset risk worries hit shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Shares in Intesa fell by 2% after Bloomberg reported Intesa was cutting as much as 20 billion euros ($22 billion) in risk-weighted assets to address supervisory remarks about its inadequate risk models. Intesa said the risk weighted asset (RWA) reduction it had carried out in the fourth quarter related to regulatory changes kicking in from Jan. 1, 2023 and its core capital would land at around 13% at the end of 2022. "We believe that the group is working on RWAs optimisation as well as rationalisation of capital usage in order to face regulatory headwinds (around 45 basis points already communicated) and continue the generous capital distribution that management had in the past." Il Sole said banks had taken action to avoid the capital hit by shifting to capital-light businesses, transferring risks to investors through so-called synthetic securitisation deals or shedding assets altogether. ($1 = 0.9232 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BNP Paribas' $16 bln U.S. sale to BMO wins regulatory OK
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), France's biggest listed bank, said on Wednesday that it had received all the necessary regulatory approvals to complete its previously announced sale of Bank of the West to Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO). BNP Paribas added that this transaction was expected to close on Feb 1. "The closing of the Bancwest sale has been long-awaited ... and is a significant positive catalyst for BNP shares in our view," Jefferies analysts said in a note. Once the deal closes, it will bring nearly 1.8 million commercial, retail, wealth management and business banking customers and over 9,300 Bank of the West employees to BMO. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Silvia Aloisi and Manya Saini in Bengaluru editing by Jason Neely and Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ HDFC Bank, India's biggest private lender, says net profit jumps 18.5%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Net profit for the quarter was 122.59 billion rupees ($1.51 billion), up from 103.42 billion rupees in the same quarter a year earlier. That was above analysts' forecast of 118.33 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid, rose 24.6% to 229.88 billion rupees from 184.44 billion rupees. HDFC's advances for its third fiscal quarter rose 19.5%, retail loans grew 21.4%, commercial and rural banking loans were up 30.2% and other wholesale loans rose 20.3%. Provisions and contingencies fell slightly to 28.06 billion rupees from 29.94 billion rupees last year.

☆ Poland, Lithuania want nuclear curbs in new EU sanctions on Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations/File PhotoBRUSSELS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Poland and Lithuania want the European Union to impose restrictions on Russia's nuclear sector as part of new sanctions against Moscow and Minsk for the war in Ukraine, senior diplomats from the two EU countries said on Friday. They said the 10th EU package of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine should be ready in time for the first anniversary of the invasion on Feb. 24. They wanted new sanctions against Russia's ally Belarus, where they said loopholes allowed it to bypass European sanctions against Moscow in trading goods including furniture. They proposed that Rosatom and/or its leadership be blacklisted as a first step that should then lead to winding down cooperation in the EU with Russia's nuclear industry. The senior diplomats said they would also try again to end Belgium's diamond trade with Russia through new EU sanctions and expand bans on trade in goods that can be used for military purposes.

REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File PhotoWINNIPEG, Manitoba, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Netherlands-based Rabobank NA (RABOVR.UL) is aiming to grab 10-15% of the Canadian farm lending market within 15 years, as it aims to shake up a sector dominated by government and domestic banks, its new Canadian agricultural head told Reuters on Wednesday. It took Rabobank a decade before deciding to expand into Canadian farm lending, taking a methodical approach, Lieverse said. Rabobank expects Canadian farm lending to be profitable from the start and plans to announce hiring plans shortly, she said. Rabobank did not release its estimate of the value of the Canadian farm lending market, but government agency Statistics Canada pegged 2021 farm debt at a record-high C$129 billion ($96.1 billion), with chartered banks accounting for 37%. Farm Credit Canada, owned by the Canadian government, is the biggest agricultural lender, controlling a market share of about one-third, Lieverse said.

☆ StanChart suitors track banking’s flighty fortunes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But one reliable rule of thumb is that Standard Chartered (STAN.L) will be the subject of periodic bouts of takeover speculation. The latest prospective suitor, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), reflects the shifting fortunes of global banking. Under UK rules, First Abu Dhabi cannot make an offer for StanChart for six months, unless another bidder emerges. The Abu Dhabi lender said it had been in “the very early stages of evaluating a possible offer” for the emerging markets-focused bank. Standard Chartered declined to comment.

☆ Indian banks may need to lift deposit rates as credit demand surges - RBI report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Siddhi Nayak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While banks have swiftly transmitted the hikes to their lending rates, deposit rates have been laggards for most. To fund this credit growth, banks are mobilising deposits at a faster pace amid tight banking system liquidity in recent weeks. The transmission repo rate increase during May-October to deposit rates is likely to provide a "fillip" to deposit growth rates, the report said. The RBI said it was imperative that banks ensure due diligence and robust credit appraisal to limit credit risk. "The uncertainties characterising fast-changing macroeconomic scenario amidst formidable global headwinds during 2022-23 can pose new challenges to the banking sector," the RBI said.

☆ Sanctions forcing Russia's Sberbank to close UAE office, company says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sweeping Western sanctions targeted Russia's financial system after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. Sberbank is one of several major Russian banks to have been blocked from the international SWIFT payments system and some senior executives have been personally hit by sanctions. "Unfortunately, in the context of sanctions restrictions, we are facing serious constraints on our SberInvest Middle East office in Abu Dhabi and we, unfortunately, are forced to close it in the first quarter of 2023," Vedyakhin told reporters. He said Sberbank would continue serving clients in the UAE market and that active communications were underway with Chinese regulators about opening an office there. Vedyakhin declined to give full-year forecasts but said Sberbank was confident of being profitable in December.

☆ Rouble tumbles to near eight-month low vs dollar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

By 0740 GMT, the rouble was down 1.8% against the dollar at 72.25 , earlier hitting 72.3075, its weakest mark since April 29. It also lost 1.6% to trade at 76.82 versus the euro , also a near eight-month low, and shed 2% against the yuan to a near seven-month low of 10.28 . The rouble is continuing its "unrestrained fall", said Veles Capital analysts. Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was up 0.3% at $82.4 a barrel. For Russian equities guide seeFor Russian treasury bonds see($1 = 72.0000 roubles)Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Tom Hogue and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: India's post-COVID spending boom drives two-speed economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Ira Dugal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The world's fifth-largest economy is expected grow 6% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, according to a survey by the Indian central bank this month. Importantly, conditions are better than not just the crippling slump during India's devastating COVID surge last year but also the anemic growth of the debt-saddled last decade. "If India does everything right, we could see significant foreign inflows in the next one to two years," said Sridhar Sivaram, investment director at Enam Holdings, a privately managed investment group. India's weight in the MSCI emerging market index has already risen from 8% in 2019 to 16% as of October 2022, said Sivaram. There is also hope that global corporations will diversify supply chains away from China, which would benefit India.

☆ India's e-bus ambition hits financing speed bump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Sarita Chaganti Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Mahesh Babu, chief executive of e-bus maker Switch Mobility, said that "most of the contracts related to STUs are seen by banks as high risk" and called for payment security for bus makers. Financing diesel buses is safer because in the case of any default, banks can repossess the asset and easily redeploy it. A Tata Motors spokesperson said there was a need for "adequate safeguards with appropriate payment security mechanisms" to make such ventures bankable. A federal government official, on the condition of anonymity, said they would consider the demands of the industry. The Ministry of Heavy Industries, which is promoting the use of e-buses, did not immediately respond to a email seeking comment.

☆ Analysis: EU unity over Russia sanctions falters as Europe's economy wilts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( John O'Donnell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Some, such as Belgium and Greece, as well as Hungary which still relies heavily on Russian energy imports, pushed back against further sweeping measures, EU diplomats told Reuters. Russia says sanctions have boomeranged against the West, driving up inflation as energy prices have rocketed higher. Meanwhile, existing EU measures are not always watertight. Others are more discrete, while some have half an eye on a future relationship with Russia after the war ends. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this month that the EU would "tighten the sanctions against Russia for as long as Putin continues his war".

☆ U.S. Sanctions Russia’s Rosbank, Subsidiaries of VTB
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( David Smagalla | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. government has sanctioned Russian lender Rosbank and has expanded sanctions against VTB, one of the country’s largest banks, in a move to further limit the Russian government’s efforts to fund its war in Ukraine. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Thursday announced sanctions against 17 subsidiaries of VTB, building on sanctions placed on the parent company in February, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Treasury cited the importance of Rosbank to the Russian government, given that the lender is considered a “systemically important credit institution” in the country. The U.S. sanctions follow similar sanctions of Rosbank by the U.K. and Canada earlier this year. Nornickel wasn’t included in the State Department’s sanctions package.

☆ EU Commission proposes ninth package of sanctions against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a ninth package of sanctions on Russia, including adding almost 200 additional individuals and entities on the sanctions list. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement the EU also proposes to introduce sanctions against three additional Russian banks and also wants to impose new export controls and restrictions, particularly for dual-use goods including key chemicals, nerve agents, electronics and IT components. Reporting by GV De Clercq, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The EU for the first time will seek sanctions against Russia's mining sector, expanding efforts to cripple Russia's wartime economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Carla Mozée | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The European Union's executive arm is seeking a potential ban on new mining investments in Russia's metals sector, the Financial Times reported. The bloc had been reluctant to sanction Russia's mining industry over fears of the impact on the global supply chain. Russia produces gold, uranium, titanium, iron ore and other metals. Its mining sector accounted for a quarter of foreign investment into the country before the Ukraine war started in February, the report said, citing the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The EU, along with Western allies, has targeted Russia's oil industry, Russian banks, as well as hundreds of government officials and oligarchs.

The letter, seen by Reuters, is signed by the head of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Treasury, and mentions a loan provided by some Italian banks and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). The Italian government adopted on Thursday a scheme allowing ISAB to be placed under trusteeship, while Lukoil continues talks on selling the asset. A similar move was taken by Germany when in September it took control of a refinery owned by Rosneft (ROSN.MM). The government could call on "an oil company that operates in the sector, and it is obvious to everyone that this (company) could be Eni, and this will ensure continuity of production," he said. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini, Editing by Christina Fincher and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU discussing Russian oil price cap at $60/barrel with bi-monthly review
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationBRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Representatives of European Union governments were discussing on Thursday a price cap on Russian seaborne oil at $60 per barrel, with a review every two months, yielding to pressure from some countries to lower the cap, diplomats said. The Group of Seven nations (G7) proposed last week a price cap on Russian oil, meant to diminish Moscow's revenues and its ability to finance its war in Ukraine, of $65-70 per barrel. Poland, Lithuania and Estonia refused to back the cap at that level, arguing Russian Urals crude was already trading lower so the cap would be ineffective. Two others confirmed the $60 level, noting there was no agreement yet. The three countries also insist that the price cap be regularly reviewed to adjust to changing market and geopolitical conditions and diplomats said EU government representatives were discussing a review every two months.

☆ China's yuan now accounts for nearly half of Moscow's currency market as Russian central bank calls for balanced transition to the redback
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The yuan's share of the Russian currency market is now 40%-45% vs. less than 1% at the start of the year, according to the Moscow Exchange. Russia's central bank is pushing for a balanced transition to the yuan that includes imports, exports and capital transactions. The yuan's share of the currency market is now 40%-45%, up from less than 1% at the start of the year, the Moscow Exchange told Reuters. Russian companies like Rosneft and Polyus have raised considerable amounts of yuan in the Chinese bond market this year. "It is also important that the transition to the yuan is balanced, addressing both exports and imports, as well as payments for capital transactions," the central bank said in a financial stability report.

☆ BoC to keep up pace with 50 basis point December rate hike -economists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Indradip Ghosh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Fourteen said the BoC would dial down its pace to 25 basis points. Of the large Canadian banks, Scotiabank, CIBC and National Bank expected a 50 basis point move with no further hikes afterward. RBC forecasts a 25 basis point hike and then a pause, while BMO expects 50 and then another 25 in early 2023. The Fed, by contrast, is expected to raise its federal funds rate to a minimum of 4.75%-5.00% early next year, with the risks around forecasts skewed toward a higher rate. "The latest BoC research on household vulnerability and flexible mortgage rates support the idea that the BoC terminal rate will end at least 50 basis points below the U.S. Federal Reserve," said Sebastien Lavoie, economist at Laurentian Bank.

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