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☆ Not much exciting about Aussie banks as high costs pressure earnings - Macquarie
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Australia's "Big Four" banks - among the top seven listed companies in the country - control 75% of the country's A$2 trillion mortgage market. That euphoria is now largely over as high living costs impact borrowers' capacity to repay loans. Macquarie, an investment bank with a small retail banking operation, said banks' cost bases are likely to remain under pressure as more than 70% of their expenses related to personnel. Macquarie added that it expects banks' expenses to grow by around 1% to 7% in fiscal 2023 through to fiscal 2025, with third-biggest lender Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) seen being impacted more than its peers. The regional banks will remain disadvantaged in the current environment as they will have to continue to invest to keep up, Macquarie said, estimating up to 4% higher expenses than consensus.

Persons: Macquarie, Sameer Manekar, Janane Organizations: Macquarie, Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ Group Holdings, CBA, NAB, Adelaide Bank, Bank of Queensland, Thomson Locations: Bendigo, Bengaluru

☆ Not much exciting about Aussie banks as high costs pressure earnings, Macquarie says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Loren Elliott, Macquarie, Sameer Manekar, Janane Organizations: Central Business, REUTERS, Macquarie, Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ Group Holdings, CBA, NAB, Adelaide Bank, Bank of Queensland, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Bendigo, Bengaluru

[1/2] 3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Oracle cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTORONTO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Oracle (ORCL.N) is ready to cater to Canadian banks for their open banking needs and provide tools as needed when the country make its available, a financial services executive with the cloud computing giant said. "We are open banking ready," Sonny Singh, executive vice president of Oracle Financial Services said in an interview. Oracle's suite of financial products - used in 140 countries, billing and managing $500 billion in revenue - includes purpose-built products for financial services from financial crime, compliance applications and risk management. Oracle already counts some Canadian banks as clients for one or many of its services, that includes cloud to enterprise applications.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sonny Singh, Singh, Nivedita Balu, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Oracle, REUTERS, Rights, Oracle Financial Services, SIBOS, Amazon Web Services, Google, Thomson Locations: Canada, Toronto, Australia, Britain

☆ Indian banks are at an inflection point, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIndian banks are at an inflection point, Goldman Sachs saysRahul Jain of the investment bank explains why it's constructive on India's banking sector.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Rahul Jain

[1/2] 3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Oracle cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Oracle Corp FollowTORONTO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Oracle (ORCL.N) is ready to cater to Canadian banks for their open banking needs and provide tools as needed when the country make its available, a financial services executive with the cloud computing giant said. "We are open banking ready," Sonny Singh, executive vice president of Oracle Financial Services said in an interview. Oracle's suite of financial products - used in 140 countries, billing and managing $500 billion in revenue - includes purpose-built products for financial services from financial crime, compliance applications and risk management. Oracle already counts some Canadian banks as clients for one or many of its services, that includes cloud to enterprise applications.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sonny Singh, Singh, Nivedita Balu, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Oracle, REUTERS, Oracle Corp, Oracle Financial Services, SIBOS, Thomson Locations: Canada, Toronto, Australia, Britain

CNN —The Iranian government now has access to $6 billion of their funds to be used for humanitarian purposes as a part of a wider deal that allowed five Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran to go free. Sources told CNN the funds came from oil sales that were allowed and placed into accounts set up under the Trump administration. The money is now available to the Iranian government for purchase of non-sanctionable items such as food and medicine. Kirby said that statement was “flat out wrong.”“This is not a payment of any kind, it’s not ransom, these aren’t US taxpayer dollars, and we haven’t lifted a single one of our sanctions on Iran – Iran will be getting no sanctions relief,” Kirby said. “The money will then go to qualified vendors to purchase and deliver the food, the medical supplies, into Iran.

Persons: Biden, John Kirby, Trump, Antony Blinken, Ebrahim Raisi, Kirby, ” Kirby, “, ”, Trita, Republican Sen, Tom Cotton of, Mike Pence –, Pence, Sen, Tim Scott, Blinken, Janet Yellen Organizations: CNN, Qatar, Republicans, State Department, Ukraine, Biden, US Treasury Department, Qatari National Bank, Quincy Institute, Republican, House, Tehran – Locations: Iran, South Korea, Qatar, Europe, White, Doha, Washington ,, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Tehran, China, United States

REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTORONTO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal (BMO) (BMO.TO) is winding down its indirect retail auto finance business and shifting focus to other areas in a move that will result in an unspecified number of job losses, Canada's third-largest bank said. The bank, which announced the move on Saturday, has conducted this business in Canada and the United States. Under the indirect retail auto finance business, the bank works with car dealerships to arrange financing for buyers, who make monthly payments to the lender. "By winding down the indirect retail auto finance business, we have the ability to focus our resources on areas where we believe our competitive positioning is strongest," BMO said in a statement to Reuters. The remaining loans in this portfolio are primarily auto loans, but also include other loans, including loans for boats, recreational vehicles and motorcycles, Edward Jones analyst James Shanahan said.

Persons: Chris Wattie, Paul Hunsley, Edward Jones, James Shanahan, Nivedita Balu, Denny Thomas, Jane Merriman, Susan Fenton, Will Dunham, Diane Craft Organizations: of Montreal, BMO, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of Montreal, Reuters, The, Bank, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, United States, California, Toronto

A Bank of Montreal (BMO) logo is seen outside of a branch in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTORONTO, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal (BMO) (BMO.TO) is winding down its retail auto finance business and shifting focus to other areas in a move that will result in an unspecified number of job losses, Canada's third largest bank said on Saturday. "By winding down the indirect retail auto finance business, we have the ability to focus our resources on areas where we believe our competitive positioning is strongest," BMO said in a statement to Reuters. Under the indirect retail auto finance business, the bank provides financing to the vehicle seller instead of directly to the buyer, who makes monthly payments to the lender. The United States now accounts for more than two-thirds of BMO's overall profits.

Persons: Chris Wattie, Paul Hunsley, Gross, Nivedita Balu, Denny Thomas, Jane Merriman, Susan Fenton Organizations: of Montreal, BMO, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of Montreal, Reuters, Bank, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, United States, California, Toronto

☆ Top Russian banks say exporters can now get trapped funds from India
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Elena Fabrichnaya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

After Moscow despatched troops to Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions and have sought to wean themselves off Russian energy exports. India has been a major beneficiary, picking up Russian oil on the cheap. In response, India is seeking to stimulate investment in several sectors and diversify the goods that India supplies to Russia, Kapoor said at the economic forum. Tightening global supplies have led Russian companies to stop offering fertiliser such as di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) to India at discounted prices, three industry sources told Reuters. On the transactions issue, Kapoor rejected reports in Russian media that rupees stuck in Russian exporters' accounts in India were related to oil supply payments.

Persons: Ivan Nosov, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, Moscow Pavan Kapoor, Kapoor, Sergei Lavrov, Lavrov, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones, Emelia Organizations: ., Economic, RBC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, India, Moscow, Ukraine, Vladivostok, Sberbank, Arab, Emirates, Russian, Jakarta

☆ Italy's new bank tax should count as cost, ABI banking lobby
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Italian banks should be able to deduct from their overall tax bill the one-off tax on income deriving from higher interest rates which the government plans to introduce, industry lobby ABI said on Tuesday. In comments prepared for a parliamentary hearing, ABI also said that the impact of lenders' government bond holdings on their income and capital should also be excluded from the tax. ABI warned the tax risked violating principles set by Italy's constitutional law. It added the sector faced challenges such as a rising cost of funding and a possible increase in unpaid loans driven by the higher rates. Reporting by Valentina Za and Giuseppe Fonte; editign Federico MaccioniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Valentina Za, Giuseppe Fonte, editign Federico Maccioni Organizations: ABI, Thomson

☆ There are 5 things the West could do to put even more pressure on Russia's struggling economy, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia's economy is crumbling - but the West needs to put more pressure on Moscow, researchers say. There are five things the West could do to up the ante on Moscow's economy, according to one think tank. But Russia has also gotten better at evading sanctions, researchers said, giving the economy an unexpected buffer. That suggests stronger price controls are needed for Russian oil, considering that crude is one of Moscow's main revenue sources. That means the West could enforce a full embargo on Russia's financial sector, researchers said, isolating Russia even further from the rest of the global economy.

Persons: crimp, Vladimir Putin's, Putin Organizations: Service, Atlantic Council, US, Justice Department, Kremlin Locations: Moscow, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. In addition, as part of the deal, the administration has agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States. The transfer of the $6 billion was the critical element in the prisoner release deal, which saw four of the five American detainees transferred from Iranian jails into house arrest last month. Political Cartoons View All 1152 ImagesDue to numerous U.S. sanctions on foreign banks that engage in transactions aimed at benefitting Iran, several European countries had balked at participating in the transfer. Blinken’s waiver is aimed at easing their concerns about any risk of U.S. sanctions.

Persons: —, Biden, Antony Blinken, Joe Biden Organizations: WASHINGTON, The Associated Press, Mideast Locations: Iran, South Korea, Qatar, U.S, United States, Eastern

☆ As war grinds on, HSBC halts Russia payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. "We have therefore reached the decision to restrict commercial payments by our corporate entity customers to or from Russia and Belarus through HSBC," a HSBC spokesperson said. Business customers have been informed the bank no longer intends to process the payments, the spokesperson added, rolling out globally from this month. HSBC has announced an exit from Russia, but the planned sale of its unit to local lender Expobank has hit delays and is pending final regulatory approval. The United States has pushed for harsher action against banks with Russia links, while China in contrast has deepened economic ties with Russia.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Expobank, Iain Withers, John O'Donnell, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: HSBC Bank, REUTERS, HSBC, Belarus, Business, Nikkei, SWIFT, Raiffeisen Bank, United, Thomson Locations: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Europe's, China, United States, Hong Kong, Moscow, Europe, Russian

☆ American economic power is potent but unstable
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For the past 15 years, the iPhone has been a totem of U.S. economic power. If the country is cooling on the $2.8 trillion company, it’s a potent indicator of increasingly frosty relations with the United States. Perhaps most significantly, the U.S. government realised it could use the internet to spy on adversaries and the financial system to subdue them. The tendency of capitalism to produce a handful of giant companies, many of them headquartered in the United States, helped successive administrations exert their authority. A complete severing of economic links between China and the United States is hard to imagine.

Persons: Norman Angell, Thomas Friedman, Vladimir Putin, Edward Snowden, Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Putin, Biden, ”, Farrell, Newman, Donald Trump, ” Farrell, Allen Lane, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, Apple, World Trade Organization, New York Times, National Security Agency, U.S . Treasury, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown University, WTO, Huawei, BNP, Biden Administration, Intel, U.S ., European, United, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, United States, France, Russian, U.S, North Korea, Iran, New York, Washington, Sudan, Cuba, Ukraine, America, Russia, Germany, United, Europe

[1/3] Director Craig Gillespie poses during the gala presentation of "Dumb Money" at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 8, 2023. Dumb Money captures the behind-the-scenes of one of the biggest Wall Street stories of COVID that hooked retail investors and created a mutiny by grabbing the attention of professional investors on social media. It chronicles the battle between institutional and retail investors when Reddit-inspired small traders rose up against Wall Street by buying shares of GameStop (GME.N) en masse, creating large losses for short sellers. With the tagline "Dear Wall Street ...," the movie is "very front and center" and is timely in discussing the topic of wealth disparity in America, Gillespie said. Teddy Schwarzman declined to comment on how his familial ties to Wall Street affected the production of "Dumb Money."

Persons: Craig Gillespie, Carlos Osorio, Craig Gillespie's, Gillespie, Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, Vincent D'Onofrio, Nick Offerman, Shailene Woodley, Seth Rogen, Kenneth Griffin, Steven Cohen, Aaron Ryder, Teddy Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, Jenna Zucker, Nivedita Balu, Sandra Maler Organizations: Toronto, Film, REUTERS, Rights, GameStop, America, Wall, Blackstone Group, Thomson Locations: Toronto , Ontario, Canada, America

Honoree Japanese film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki poses during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Governors Awards in Los Angeles, California November 8, 2014. "There is nothing concrete on the table yet, but he shows the willingness to create something new," Nishioka said, adding that Miyazaki, is at the studio everyday. In Toronto, film buffs and movie fans lined up for the movie, the first time an animated Japanese film opened the festival. The movie is also inspired by how Miyazaki himself felt after the war and coped with the loss of his mother. "This is a personal film, showing how he (Miyazaki) lived, how he should have lived and throwing out the question to the audience, 'So how do you live?

Persons: Hayao Miyazaki, Kevork, Miyazaki, Nishioka, Toshio Suzuki's, Gabriel Mas, Genzaburo Yoshino, Mahito Maki, Nivedita Balu, Sandra Maler Organizations: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, REUTERS, Rights, Toronto, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, Miyazaki, Japan, Toronto

☆ Meloni’s windfall tax on Italian banks ‘very stupid’ and ‘very dangerous,’ Azione party leader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMeloni’s windfall tax on Italian banks ‘very stupid’ and ‘very dangerous,’ Azione party leader saysCarlo Calenda, leader of centrist Azione party, discusses the first year of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. He says Meloni’s surprise move to impose a windfall tax on Italian banks was “very stupid” and the principle is “very dangerous.”

Persons: Carlo Calenda, Giorgia

☆ Russia's massive brain drain is ravaging the economy - these stunning figures show why it will soon be smaller than Indonesia's
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's war on Ukraine has fueled a massive brain drain that will hobble Putin's economy. Russia's GDP, as measured by purchasing power parity, will fall behind Indonesia's in 2026. "But Russia's slide and Indonesia's ascent are both driven in large part by the same thing: people. Russia is suffering from acute brain drain while Indonesia's labor force is growing," the Council wrote. Not only is Indonesia's labor force increasing, but the influx of highly skilled workers has helped boost private consumption standards in the country, it added.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, That's, would've, Putin, Indonesia's Organizations: Service, Workers, French Institute of International Relations, Kremlin, Atlantic Council Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Indonesia's, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Soviet, Indonesia, China, Beijing

That has led to a rare situation in Canada where banks are seeing mortgage amortizations getting extended beyond 30 years, sparking calls from regulators to take immediate action to mitigate risks. For the other four banks, mortgages amortizing under 25 years account for a half to nearly three quarters. Scotiabank's Canada head Dan Rees said the bank was now being more "disciplined with regards to customer selection" for new mortgages. Still, the risks remain elevated as consumers are struggling to make monthly payments due to the rising cost of living. TD Bank's Canada personal banking head Michael Rhodes told analysts this week that "a meaningful number of customers" are making the changes.

Persons: Mark Blinch, Hratch Panossian, Dan Rees, Brian Madden, Michael Rhodes, Dave McKay, Nivedita Balu, Denny Thomas, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Canada's, Reuters, CIBC, Bank of Nova, Investment, Thomson Locations: Toronto, Milton , Ontario, Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia

☆ Italy's bad loan proposal risks damaging crucial market, senior banker says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A law proposed by the Italian prime minister's party to help those in arrears risks damaging the country's non-performing loan (NPL) market, which played a crucial role in helping banks offload sour debt, a senior banker active in the sector said on Friday. It aims to give borrowers the right to repay the original loan at a price equivalent to the ratio between the loan's gross nominal value and the average portfolio price, plus a 20% premium. Bossi said the measure could prompt foreign operators active in the sector to shift their focus from the Italian market. "This would be a damage for banks because it would reduce demand for their soured debt", the banker said. "We should keep in mind that Italian banks are now sound because the NPLs market helped the system offload some 350 billion euros of debts which went soured", he added.

Persons: Meloni's, Giovanni Bossi, Bossi, Elvira Pollina, David Holmes Organizations: Cherry Bank, Reuters, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Italy

☆ Intesa Sanpaolo chairman sees limited impact from Italy windfall tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of bank Intesa Sanpaolo is seen in Milan, Italy, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCERNOBBIO, Italy, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The chairman of Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) sees no cause for alarm over the impact of the windfall tax on Italian banks and said it would probably cost Italy's biggest bank less than 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion). The windfall tax, which wrongfooted bank investors when announced in August, is a one-off measure targeting gains from higher interest rates. The Treasury expects to draw less than 3 billion euros from the measure, sources have said. Gros-Pietro said dividends would inevitably be affected by any impact of the tax on profit but that Intesa investors would still be well rewarded.

Persons: Stefano Rellandini, Intesa, Gian Maria Gros, Pietro, Gros, Elvira Pollina, Giulio Piovaccari, Keith Weir, Alvise Armellini, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, House, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy

CIBC blamed soft U.S. real estate and construction sectors and high interest rates for its three-fold jump in bad loan provisions to C$736 million ($544 million). "Where we are seeing the issues is in commercial real estate and in particular, in the institutional office space," said Shawn Beber, the bank's head of U.S. operations. And as that transition continues, you'll see (commercial real estate) wind up being a smaller percentage of the overall U.S. portfolio as our commercial and industrial and our wealth businesses continue to grow," Beber told analysts. The U.S. office portfolio represents less than 1% of CIBC's overall loan book and 20% of overall U.S. commercial real estate. "It appears that higher interest rates for longer may be the primary culprit," RBC analyst Darko Mihelic said.

Persons: Carlos Osorio, Shawn Beber, Beber, Brian Madden, Darko Mihelic, Nivedita Balu, Pritam Biswas, David Holmes, Mark Potter Organizations: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CIBC, REUTERS, Bank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova, National Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Investment, RBC, Thomson Locations: Toronto , Ontario, Canada, U.S, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian, Toronto, Bengaluru

☆ Former Kremlin official blames the ruble's crash on Russia's stockpile of rupees that's stranded in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mikhail Zadornov, Russia's former minister of finance, attributed the ruble's recent crash to the Kremlin's stockpile of rupees that are stuck in India. In his view, the ruble's current 95-per-dollar level is in part the result of Russia's inability to convert rupees it earned via exports into its own currency, leaving the rupees stranded. It's state-run Tass agency said Russia's Energy Ministry denied he statements that stranded rupees weakened the ruble. Russia and India previously suspended negotiations over using rupees for trade between the two countries. Russia and India remain deadlocked in a currency dispute that has also frozen weapons sales between the two countries.

Persons: Mikhail Zadornov, Zadornov Organizations: Service, Russia's Energy Ministry, RBC, Russian Central Bank, Kremlin Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russia, India, Moscow, It's

BMO, which bought U.S. regional lender Bank of the West earlier this year, said provision for credit losses rose to C$492 million ($361.42 million), compared with C$136 million a year ago. The bank's earnings were also affected by severance costs of C$162 million and C$83 million in legal provisions at its capital markets unit. At Bank of Montreal, net interest income for the quarter rose to C$4.91 billion, compared with C$4.20 billion last year. At Scotiabank net interest income fell to C$4.58 billion, from $4.68 billion a year ago, largely hurt by lower corporate lending and lower loan fees. At Scotiabank, net income came in at C$2.23 billion, compared with C$2.61 billion.

Persons: Carlos Osorio, Tayfun Tuzun, BMO's, Scott Thomson, Thomson, John Aiken, BMO's Tuzun, Nivedita Balu, Pritam Biswas, Sri Hari, Shweta Agarwal, Bernadette Baum, Mike Harrison, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Bank of Montreal, REUTERS, Bank of Nova, Bank of Canada's, BMO, Bank, Scotiabank, Barclays, Bank of, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Toronto , Ontario, Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto, U.S, Mexico, Bank of Montreal, Bengaluru

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