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☆ 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.

☆ Italy seeks U.S. help to unlock funding for Lukoil refinery, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The survival of the ISAB plant in Sicily is under threat due to a European embargo on seaborne Russian oil coming into effect on Dec. 5. ISAB has been forced to rely solely on Russian oil after creditor banks halted financing and stopped providing guarantees needed to buy oil from alternative suppliers. Its creditor banks have been wary of dealing with a Russian entity because Lukoil is affected by international sanctions in the United States, but not in Europe. So far, however, there has been no positive response to Italy's request, one of the sources said. A cabinet meeting on Thursday will also discuss steps aimed at helping the ISAB plant, one of the sources said.

☆ Moscow is now the fourth largest offshore trading hub for the Chinese yuan, as sanctions spur Russia's dash to an alternative currency
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has been accelerating its use of the Chinese yuan to counter sweeping Western sanctions. Bloomberg Creative/Getty ImagesRussia is now the fourth-largest user of the Chinese yuan — after Hong Kong, the UK, and Singapore. The Chinese yuan was the fifth most commonly used currency for global payments in October 2022. Russia, whose access to the US dollar was curtailed due to sweeping sanctions over the Ukraine invasion, has now become a big user of the Chinese yuan for trade. Some Russian companies, such as energy giant Rosneft, have also issued bonds denominated in the Chinese yuan to raise funds.

☆ EU inches towards deal on Russian oil price cap this week
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Last Wednesday, representatives of EU governments debated for the first time a price cap level that would still provide an incentive for Moscow to sell, but at a much smaller profit. "But since then prices have kept falling and are now below the cap level, so that level achieves no objective," he said. The three countries, which all border Russia, back a $30 price cap. The oil price cap has not been added to their agenda, but still could be, diplomats said. They also said talks would continue in smaller groups, and between EU and G7 countries, to find a deal before Monday.

[1/2] Chinese Yuan and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen behind illuminated stock graph in this illustration taken February 10, 2020. His contract manufacturing business with Russia has been small in the past, but now he's preparing to invest in warehousing there. He sees a win-win situation in Chinese exporters reducing their currency risks and payment becoming more convenient for Russian buyers. The U.S. Treasury declined to comment on the yuan's growing presence in Russia. ($1 = 7.2074 Chinese yuan renminbi)Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Pravin CharOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indian banks' loan growth to accelerate despite higher interest rates -Fitch
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Loan growth at Indian banks will accelerate to 13% in this fiscal year despite the RBI raising interest rates, as economic activity picks up after a pandemic led lull, Fitch Ratings said on Monday. read moreStrong loan growth will, however, put pressure on core equity tier 1 ratios if credit growth exceed expectations, limiting buffers to absorb potential future losses, the ratings agency said. Deposit growth is seen at 11% this year and the next, slower than loan growth. Increased deposit rates may put some pressure on margins, but lower credit costs should offset pressure on profitability, Fitch said, adding that near-term asset quality risks appeared contained. "Deposits' large role in banks' funding mix are likely to remain a credit strength for Indian banks, despite some normalisation in household savings after being boosted during the pandemic," the note said.

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Top Canadian banks are expected to post a decline in fourth-quarter profits as choppy markets hurt wealth management and a slow deal pipeline dents income from investment banking, offsetting expected gains from business loans. On average, profit for the Big Six banks are expected to drop 4% from last year, hurt by lower investment banking activity. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), which have the largest capital markets businesses, are expected to see the biggest hit to profits. "Business lending was particularly strong and aided by strength in balances outside of Canada," KBW analysts Mike Rizvanovic and Abhilash Shashidharan said. National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO), also among the Big Six, will report earnings on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

☆ India's Essar Group is debt-free after repaying $25 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - India's Essar Group has become debt-free, having settled the remainder of its $25 billion debt after the sale of two ports and a power plant to ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Ltd (AM/NS), the group said on Monday. Essar, built by brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, has sold some of its assets in sectors such as telecom, oil refining and steel over the years to settle its $25 billion debt. "Essar has concluded its asset monetisation programme and completed the debt repayment of $25 billion effectively making the group debt-free from Indian banks and financial institutions," Prashant Ruia, director, Essar Capital, said in a statement. AM/NS, which agreed to buy some infrastructure assets from Essar group for $2.4 billion, in a statement said that the ports and the power plant are captive to its India's operations and are expected to generate operation synergies for the company. Acquisition of these assets will help move raw materials and finished goods between the company's manufacturing facilities in western, eastern and southern India.

☆ Italy’s bank lobby warns ECB of risk of attending board meetings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Head of Italian Banking Association (ABI) Antonio Patuelli is seen during a meeting in Rome, Italy, October 31, 2017. REUTERS/Remo CasilliFLORENCE, Italy, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The head of Italy's banking lobby urged the European Central Bank (ECB) to consider whether its representatives could find themselves sharing responsibility for lenders’ mistakes if they attend banks’ board meetings. Speaking at a banking seminar, Italian Banking Association President Antonio Patuelli weighed in on the tensions brewing between euro zone banks and ECB supervisors. Patuelli said it should not come at a surprise if Italian banks bought fewer domestic government bonds following the ECB's decision. Touching on the issue of ECB representatives' presence at banks' board meetings, Patuelli said this could get them in trouble if they proved unable to stop what later emerged as misdeeds.

☆ European shares bounce as battered miners rise, ECB loan repayments eyed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.9%, with basic resources stocks (.SXPP) up 1.2% after falling more than 3% in the last two sessions. The European Central Bank gears up to start the biggest withdrawal of cash from the euro zone's banking system in its history, with banks expected to repay about 500 bln euros in TLTRO loans. The STOXX 600 has gained about 4.9% so far this month, driven by better-than-feared earnings and expectations of smaller rate increases by the Fed. Among individual stocks, Austrian hydropower producer Verbund (VERB.VI) jumped 8.2% to top the STOXX 600, while energy and environmental services provider EVN (EVNV.VI) gained 5.2%. Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Colombia's Grupo Aval posts 23.2% decrease in Q3 net profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Colombian financial conglomerate Grupo Aval (GAA.CN) reported third quarter net profit down 23.2% from a year earlier on Wednesday, landing at 929.8 billion pesos ($193.4 million), citing a higher effective tax rate and increased costs. The conglomerate's portfolio includes Colombian banks Banco de Bogota (BBO.CN), Banco Popular (BPO.CN), Banco AV Villas (VLL.CN) and Banco de Occidente (BOC.CN). The central bank of Latin America's fourth-largest economy has raised its benchmark interest rate to 11% - its highest level in 21 years - in continued efforts to respond to rising inflation. Grupo Aval, controlled by business magnate Luis Carlos Sarmiento, said its consolidated portfolio grew 16.5% during the quarter compared to 3Q21. (1 dollar = 4,806.07 Colombian pesos at end-September)Reporting by Aida Pelaez Fernandez and Carolina Pulice, Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Brendan O'BoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File PhotoCommodity trade finance covers many types of loans, typically from banks, that facilitate global movement of goods from wheat to gasoline. Most trade finance loans are short-term, less than a year. Traders’ credit lines became strained last year when natural gas prices sky-rocketed in the fourth quarter. ‘DESIRE TO DIVERSIFY’Lending for commodity trade finance has become more diverse, with non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) stepping in. The underlying issue was the retreat of major banks from commodity financing after some 2020 defaults in the sector while Russian banks Sberbank and Gazprombank that were set to expand have now been shut out of Europe.

Commodity trade finance covers many types of loans, typically from banks, that facilitate global movement of goods from wheat to gasoline. Most trade finance loans are short-term, less than a year. The involvement of hedge funds in commodity trade finance has created a lifeline for smaller firms, deemed to be higher risk for banks due to strict capital requirements and clean energy goals. 'DESIRE TO DIVERSIFY'Lending for commodity trade finance has become more diverse, with non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) stepping in. The Swiss firm specialises in financing small to mid-sized commodity merchants and has achieved returns between 6% to 10% over the last 10 years.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Three of Australia's 'big four' banks settled separate class action lawsuits for A$126 million ($84.51 million) with Slater & Gordon (SGH.AX), who took the banks to court two years ago over sale of credit insurance products, the companies said on Monday. Law firm Slater & Gordon in 2020 filed class action lawsuits against Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) on behalf of around one million customers. ANZ, along with QBE Insurance, and OnePath Life and OnePath General Insurance, indirect units of Swiss firm Zurich Insurance Group (ZURN.S), will pay a total of A$47 million to their customers under the settlement, with ANZ contributing A$42 million, Slater & Gordon said. Westpac would pay A$29 million, subject to court's approval. ($1 = 1.4910 Australian dollars)Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.K. Sanctions Have Frozen More Than $21 Billion in Russian Assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

The U.K. said its sanctions targeting Russia have frozen nearly £18.4 billion in assets, equivalent to about $21.5 billion, as the country plans to ratchet up enforcement. The U.K. joined the U.S. and other countries in imposing sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. U.K. sanctions have hit more than 1,200 individuals, more than 120 entities and 19 Russian banks, the U.K. government said Thursday. The $21 billion in assets frozen by U.K. sanctions on Russia is about $7 billion more than covered by all other U.K. sanctions regimes combined, the government said. Figures from the U.S. Treasury Department in June said sanctions by the U.S., U.K. and other allies had in total blocked more than $30 billion of Russian assets.

☆ Indian bank stocks' record rally to continue as balance sheets strengthen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Nupur Anand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A man checks his mobile phones in front of State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Kolkata, India, February 9, 2018. This comes at a time when credit growth is at a multi-year high and bad loans across lenders have reduced significantly. The brokerage said private and state-owned lenders that remained better placed to grow include ICICI Bank Ltd (ICBK.NS), HDFC Bank Ltd (HDBK.NS), Axis Bank Ltd (AXBK.NS), IndusInd Bank Ltd (INBK.NS), Bank of Baroda Ltd (BOB.NS) and State Bank of India (SBI) (SBI.NS). Credit growth is at a multi-year high, with an uptick both in retail and corporate loans. "One key concern going ahead remains how the rising interest rate scenario will impact credit growth."

☆ Russia's Sberbank makes over 50 bln rbls profit in 10-months
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian financial authorities have managed to stabilise the situation - yet restrictions, including capital controls, remain and partial mobilisation led to cash outflows from retail accounts in September and October. Sberbank shares were trading at 5.6% and VTB shares were up 3.1% at 1136 GMT, respectively. Sberbank's results "are good news allowing us to expect strong financial results in the remaining months and to hope for a dividend payout return," Promsvyazbank analysts said in a note. Dividends from Sberbank and VTB are an important source of budget revenues. Sberbank sees no restrictions on dividend payments in the coming years while VTB would use the bulk of its profit to beef-up the capital, their CEOs have said.

The banks are now less conservative in counting expected rental income when assessing loan applications, said the four sources. In September, about a third of new bank mortgage lending was for investment. On Nov. 12, NAB will also halve its discount on rental income to 10%, including for Airbnb-like short-term rentals, the sources said. NAB, Westpac and ANZ trail market leader Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX), which has a quarter of the mortgage market. Commonwealth continues to apply a rental income discount of 20% on mortgage applications, a sixth source said.

☆ New Zealand government to introduce 'open banking' for consumers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - New Zealand will introduce open banking over the next two years, the government said in a statement on Thursday, making the sector the first to have rules giving consumers full control of their financial data. "Open banking" is already in place in a number of markets overseas, including Australia and the United Kingdom. Proponents of "open banking" say it may allow consumers to share their banking data with other providers to get better and cheaper services than what they already have. Australian banks, which dominate New Zealand's banking sector, are increasing their reliance on data to approve loans and better sharing of data supports this. New Zealand Bankers' Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said it is important to get the open data sharing right for consumers and they needed time to implement.

☆ Australian lender Westpac's profit falls on charge, raises target for costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Westpac also revised its target for costs incurred up to A$8.6 billion by the 2024 financial year, citing wage increases from a tight labour market and continued regulatory costs. The new cost target marks a departure from its A$8 billion by FY24 target set in May 2021, as part of a cost-cutting exercise which analysts had termed "ambitious". However, the bank saw a 19% reduction in annual operating expenses, benefitting from lower asset writedowns and lower staff expenses. read moreWhile its lending margins in the second half did recover slightly from the first half, full-year margins were still down 13 basis points from last year. Westpac declared a final dividend of 64 Australian cents per share, compared with 60 Australian cents last year.

☆ India's SBI sees loan growth staying strong after record profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The bank reported a 74% surge in quarterly net profit on Saturday, driven by higher loan growth and improving asset quality. Net profit rose to a record 132.64 billion Indian rupees ($1.62 billion) in June-September, beating analysts' forecast of 105.30 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid out, rose 13% to 351.82 billion rupees. "We should have credit growth of 14-16% in the current financial year," Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said in a press briefing. Total provisions declined to 30.39 billion rupees in June-September from 43.92 billion rupees the previous quarter.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Russia seeks sanctions exemptions for state bank in Ukraine grain deal talks-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

This would allow the bank, which has not had a major role in the international grain trade so far, to process payments for Russian grain and other foodstuffs, two of the sources added. Before the latest sanctions, such payments were handled by international banks and subsidiaries of other Russian banks in Switzerland. The U.N. has said it "remains committed to removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer". BANK'S ROLE MAY EXPANDMoscow has said its consent to extend the Black Sea grain deal depends on support for its own grain and fertiliser exports. Should Russia's request be granted, Rosselkhozbank's role in Russia's grain trade could expand significantly.

☆ Moody's downgrades outlook for banks in Germany, Italy and elsewhere
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The ratings agency Moody's said on Wednesday that it had downgraded the outlook for banks in Germany, Italy and four other countries to "negative" from "stable" as the energy crisis and high inflation weaken economies. "We expect operating conditions to deteriorate further," Louise Welin of Moody's said. European banks' shares (.SX7e) have fallen nearly 25% from their highs before Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. Moody's said it expected weaker bank loan quality, profitability and access to funding. The outlook for British and Austrian banks remained stable, Moody's said.

Some of Europe's largest banks have warned of growing risks as the economy fizzles after posting stronger-than-expected profits last week. European banks' shares (.SX7e) have fallen nearly 25% from their highs before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The outlook for British and Austrian banks remained stable, Moody's said. For Italy, Moody's cited stagflation risks and an expectation that the economy won't grow in 2023 after an expansion of 2.7% in 2022. In Poland, Moody's said banks face a near stagnation in economic growth next year, coupled with a big rise in interest rates and inflation, which will "limit growth opportunities".

☆ India's ICICI Bank net profit jumps 37% as bad loan provisions drop
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - ICICI Bank (ICBK.NS), India's second-largest private-sector lender, reported a 37% rise in quarterly net profit on Saturday as loan growth inched up and provisions for bad loans fell. Net profit for the three-months ending Sept. 30 rose to 75.58 billion rupees ($916 million), broadly in line with analysts' estimate of 73.51 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned and paid out, was 147.9 billion rupees, a rise of 26% on the year-earlier period, the bank said in a statement. Loans increased across segments, including large corporate, although the bank was focusing on higher rated corporate borrowers, it said. The lender is holding adequate liquidity and does not see deposit growth as constraint on the bank's overall growth, said executive director Sandeep Batra.

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