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☆ Payments firm Wise says it has 'minimal' exposure to Silicon Valley Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Payments firm Wise became the biggest European company to reveal it held funds in Silicon Valley Bank on Sunday, but a spokesperson said the firm faced "minimal exposure". London-based Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, processes more than 9 billion pounds ($10.83 billion) in cross-border transactions every month. A company spokesperson told Reuters the firm held a small cash balance in a corporate account with SVB. More than 250 UK tech firm executives signed a letter addressed to Hunt on Saturday, calling for government intervention and warning of an "existential threat" to the UK tech sector. ($1 = 0.8314 pounds)Reporting by Martin Coulter; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Second-Biggest Bank Failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Karl Russell | Christine Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

A bar chart of U.S. bank failures since 2001, showing that Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse was the second-biggest in U.S. history in terms of assets. Before Silicon Valley Bank, the last firm to fail was in late 2020, as the coronavirus was ravaging the country. It’s unclear whether the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will spread to the broader industry. Silicon Valley Bank 209 17. Silicon Valley Bank 209 Fifth Third Bank 17.

The Best 2% Cash Back Credit Cards of March 2023In terms of versatility, cash back is the most flexible credit card reward. The Best 2% Cash Back Credit CardsBest all-around 2% cash rewards credit card Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card 4.3 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.3 out of 5 Stars Intro offer $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first three months from account opening Rewards Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. Best All-around 2% Cash Rewards Credit CardThe Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card has no annual fee and earns a flat 2% cash rewards on purchases. Wells Fargo Active Cash card reviewBest 2% Cash Back Card for Balance TransfersLong considered the best cash back credit card, the Citi® Double Cash Card still holds its own despite new offerings from other issuers. How to Choose a 2% Cash Back Credit Card2% cash back credit cards offer some of the simplest credit card rewards around, and they're great for people who don't want to deal with bonus categories, transferring points, or shuffling several cards to get the best return on spending.

☆ Axis Bank completes deal to buy Citi's India consumer business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The deal value of 116.03 billion rupees ($1.41 billion) is based on the closing position of assets, assets under management and liabilities of Citi's portfolio as of Jan. 31, Axis Bank said. The consideration was subject to changes in the business' position since then, said Axis Bank. "Citi India consumer banking customers are now served by Axis Bank," Citibank said on its website. Shares of Axis Bank rose 2.2% on Wednesday in their biggest intraday advance in four weeks. Axis Bank will hold a press conference on the deal after the market closes on Wednesday.

☆ Tech service startup Bitwise Industries raises $80 mln in latest funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Bitwise Industries, a tech service provider that trains workers in underrepresented communities, has raised $80 million in a funding round led by existing investors Kapor Center and Motley Fool, the company told Reuters. Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GS.N) and Citibank (C.N) also participated in the round, which brought its total funding to $180 million. Founded in Fresno, California by Irma Olguin Jr and Jake Soberal, Bitwise invests in tech real estate, runs apprentice programs for marginalized communities and sells managed tech services to government and traditional businesses. The company said it supported the training of over 10,000 individuals, 80% of whom have received technical employment. The training program, supported by government workforce upskill funding and tech corporate funding, usually takes about 12-18 months to complete.

☆ Chime is building its own version of ChatGPT to speed up its engineers' work. The fintech's CTO laid out his strategy and why he's not going with OpenAI's or Google's generative AI offerings.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Bianca Chan | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chime is in the early stages of building its own private version of ChatGPT that is set to launch this year, Insider has learned. If done successfully, Chime would unlock a competitive advantage of launching new products and features faster and more cost efficiently. The bot uses generative AI, which refers to artificial intelligence that can produce content, from creating art to coding software for engineers. He declined to disclose hiring goals and the size of Chime's tech organization. Barrese said he sees the tech as an assistant to the engineers and said the AI won't replace engineers.

☆ CNBC's best big bank savings accounts of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Elizabeth Gravier | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

To determine which big bank savings accounts are the best overall, CNBC Select analyzed and compared dozens of savings accounts offered by the largest banks and credit unions. Best big bank savings accounts of 2022Best at Bank of AmericaBank of America Advantage Savings Learn More Bank of America, N.A. If you want a simple, no-frills and low cost savings account at a big bank, U.S. Bank's Standard Savings Account is for you. The three choices include Virtual Wallet, Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend and Virtual Wallet with Performance Select. Spend is your everyday checking account, Reserve your interest-bearing checking account / primary overdraft protection account and Growth is your long-term savings account / secondary overdraft protection account.

Australia's biggest lender said loan impairment expenses increased by A$586 million ($409 million) and business credit growth slowed, reflecting strong inflationary pressures, rising interest rates and a decline in property prices. "We expect business credit growth to moderate and global economic growth to slow during 2023," said Chief Executive Officer Matt Comyn. "We are conscious that many of our customers are feeling significant strain from rising interest rates, alongside the rising costs of electricity, groceries and other household items,” Comyn said in an analyst and investor briefing. Higher interest rates are yet to hit many CBA mortgage customers as many cheaply priced fixed rate loans are expected to come off by the end of the year. The bank also announced it would buy back additional shares worth A$1 billion, on top of a A$2 billion share buy-back announced last February.

☆ Hong Kong's Lee faces stern test over $3.4 bln bid to ease housing shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong is notorious for its number of subdivided flats, estimated at 110,000 units at a median area of 124 square feet, smaller than a parking space. The government said the Light Public Housing would help tenants of sub-divided flats, as the rent would be HK$780 to HK$2,650 per month, significantly below the current median of HK$5,000 rent for subdivided flats. "Many people said Hong Kong is an international city, but its living environment is not ideal," Eric Chan, the city's No.2 official, told reporters this week. "Is the government trying to achieve the task (of increasing public housing) at any cost of public money?" ($1 = 7.8490 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Love & money: Four ways to avoid financial infidelity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Chris Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Sorry to break it to you, but your romantic partner may be sharing a secret relationship. One interesting note is that younger generations are hoarding the biggest financial secrets. ESTABLISH A ‘MONEY DATE’Since talking about money is such a taboo, it is challenging to know how or when to bring it up. DO IT NOWIf you imagine that keeping a few little money secrets will not harm anybody, you are wrong. According to a 2021 study by the National Endowment for Financial Education, 85% said financial infidelity affected their relationship in some way.

Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightCiti vs. Bank of America vs. Chase Ssavings Account ComparisonsSee how Citi, Bank of America, and Chase savings accounts compare. Citi® Accelerate Savings Bank of America Advantage Savings Account Chase Savings℠ APY 3.85% (vary by location) 0.01% to 0.04% 0.01% effective as of 10/10/2022. Winner: Bank of America and Citi Bank of America and Citi tie in this category because their savings accounts stand out for different reasons. Citi Fixed Rate CD 3.25 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 3.25 out of 5 Stars Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 0.05% to 4.15% Minimum Deposit Amount $500 View Full Details Learn moreCiti Fixed Rate CD 3.25 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 3.25 out of 5 Stars Annual Percentage Yield (APY) 0.05% to 4.15% Minimum Deposit Amount $500 View Full Details Learn more at Citi's secure site. Which bank of the three, Citi, Bank of America, or Chase, is the safest?

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Dell, On Semiconductor, PayPal, Catalent & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The PayPal logo displayed on a smartphone screen with a stock market graphic in the background. On Semiconductor — Shares gained more than 1% after the company reported earnings Monday that beat Wall Street estimates. The company posted $2.1 billion in revenue for the quarter, a 13.5% increase from $1.85 billion in revenue last year. Dell — The tech company saw its shares fall 3.7% after it announced its plans to lay off 5% of its workforce. PayPal — Shares of the payments company fell more than 3% after Raymond James downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform.

☆ Home prices and mortgages will stay high this year, but housing activity is set to cool further amid mild recession, Fannie Mae says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

High mortgage rates and home prices will persist, but activity will slump amid a mild recession, Fannie Mae said. Mortgage rates have been influenced by the Fed's rate hikes, and rates could remain high this year. A 2008-style crash is unlikely, the mortgage giant said, predicting a steady decline in home prices over the next few years. Mortgage rates have eased slightly in recent weeks as the Fed dials back the size of its rate hikes, which have lowered interest rate volatility. In either case, we expect 2023 to be a slow year for the housing market," Fannie Mae's chief economist Doug Duncan said in a note on Friday.

☆ Morning Bid: Let it go
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Anshuman DagaThe land of rising yields is the No. 1 focus of investors on Monday, as Japan's central bank may again let its bond-market peg go higher. Global inflation data due this week could underscore investors' expectations that the worst of the global price squeeze is over. A final read of euro zone inflation for December, as well as readings from Britain, Canada and Japan are due. Core inflation in all four regions is mostly rising and above target but the worst may have passed.

☆ Citigroup profit falls on provision hike, dealmaking slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Customers use ATMs at a Citibank branch in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City, U.S. October 11, 2020. REUTERS/Nick ZieminskiJan 13 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) reported a fall in fourth-quarter profit on Friday, as the bank hiked provisions to prepare for a worsening economy and investment banking revenue declined due to a sharp drop in dealmaking activity. That compares with a release of $1.37 billion from its reserves in 2021 when pandemic-related loan losses failed to materialize. Citi's investment banking revenue plunged 58% as merger and acquisition activity slowed dramatically last year, with companies shunning deals amid higher interest rates, the war in Ukraine and growing economic uncertainties. Net profit came in at $2.5 billion, or $1.16 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $3.2 billion, or $1.46 a share, a year earlier.

Today, there are 54 Hispanic American banks and credit unions that are FDIC or NCUA insured around the US. We selected Hispanic American-owned credit unions from the National Credit Union Administration's list of minority depository institutions which was also updated in September 2022. In our list of Hispanic American-owned banks and credit unions, many of the institutions listed offer customer support in Spanish and English. You can open up savings accounts, checking accounts, CDs, and money market accounts in most of the institutions listed. To help you learn more about a specific Hispanic American-owned bank or credit union, we've included links to reviews of individual institutions.

☆ Inside the lives of some of the most powerful people on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

We're highlighting profiles we've done of some of the most powerful people on Wall Street. They are, as you will see, largely white males — a telling reminder of who still wields the power throughout most of Wall Street. Gregg Lemkau was considered a future CEO candidate at Goldman Sachs before he shocked Wall Street by leaving for Michael Dell's investment firm in 2020. Soft-spoken types can sometimes get bulldozed on Wall Street, where so-called alphas often reign supreme. Inside his strategy for turning Goldman into the Amazon of Wall Street.

☆ The Best Banks for Small Business
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +15 min

To find the best business banks, we evaluated two dozen of the biggest institutions, looking for accounts that are easy to use, with low or no fees, and that don’t require large balances. Amex is one of relatively few banks that offers a competitive interest rate on its business checking account, with a current APY of 1.3% on balances up to $500,000. If you’re on the lookout for a new business credit card, the American Express Business Gold Card is Buy Side’s pick for Best Business Credit Card. How we pickedTo pick Buy Side from WSJ’s Best Banks for Small Business, we evaluated small-business checking accounts offered by two dozen traditional and digital banking institutions. We looked for business checking accounts that offered the best combination of convenience, low fees and features that make running a business easier, like integration with other business technology platforms and the availability of (or ability to connect with) payment processing systems.

☆ Citi, Revlon lenders reach deal over $500 mln accidental payment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Industry Insight | Saw Law Firms Move Past The Pandemic Into A More Client-Focused Service Environment | Thomson Reuters Institute | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Citigroup Inc (Citi) logo is seen at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. Citigroup, as Revlon's loan agent, had accidentally used its own money in August 2020 to prematurely pay off an $894 million loan owed by billionaire Ronald Perelman's now-bankrupt cosmetics company. "About three quarters of the mistaken payments have now been returned to Citibank," lawyers for both Citigroup and the lenders said in a letter to a federal judge. Citibank expects to file notices of dismissal in the coming weeks if payments are made as per the agreement, the document said. Reporting by Ann Maria Shibu and Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Amgen gains several approved drugs through the deal, a bulwark against rising competition for its blockbuster arthritis drug, Enbrel, from newer treatments. Sales of Amgen's Enbrel tumbled 14% in the latest reported quarter to $1.1 billion, extending a run of downbeat performances. The Horizon bid follows Amgen's $3.7 billion deal in August for rare blood vessel inflammation treatment maker ChemoCentryx Inc . The offer values Horizon at $27.8 billion on a fully diluted basis, according to the company, which includes ordinary shares to be vested. Based on Reuters calculations, it values Horizon at about $26 billion and gives Horizon a $28.3 billion valuation, including debt.

☆ EU wrangles with Hungary over Ukraine aid, tax plan as billions at risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

As the wrangling has gone on, Hungary also blocked the 18 billion euros joint EU loan to Ukraine and the tax plan, drawing ire from other countries for what they said was an attempt to blackmail the bloc into releasing the funds to Budapest. Hungary says it opposes joint EU borrowing to support Ukraine but that it would extend bilateral aid to Kyiv instead. Budapest has also said the OECD plan for a minimum corporate tax is against Hungary's national interests. Other EU countries are divided between those willing to punish Hungary more harshly and those saying the amounts frozen would be lessened if Hungary moved on Ukraine and OECD. The rest depends on Hungary, it's their money," said one EU diplomat.

☆ UK announces major overhaul of its financial sector in attempt to spur growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.K. government on Friday announced extensive reforms to financial regulation that it says will overhaul EU laws that "choke off growth." Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said he wanted to ensure the U.K.'s status as "one of the most open, dynamic and competitive financial services hubs in the world." "And we will go further – delivering reform of burdensome EU laws that choke off growth in other industries such as digital technology and life sciences." Researchers at the London School of Economics said earlier this year that financial services will be among the sectors worst hit by Brexit. Another proposed reform would see regulators' remit increased to include facilitating the competitiveness of the U.K. economy, particularly the financial services sector.

The potential settlement was discussed in a joint letter by lawyers for Citigroup and the lenders, which include hedge funds and investment funds, filed late Monday night in Manhattan federal court. "The parties have a mutual interest in resolving the time frames to enable resolution," the letter said. Following the earlier ruling, Citigroup had lowered previously reported profit to reflect $390 million of additional legal expenses. Last week, the lawyers said "material terms" of a potential settlement called for Citigroup to recoup its money and transfer some interest and amortization payments. The case is In re Citibank August 11, 2020 Wire Transfers, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Remembering Gary Strieker, who helped establish CNN's presence in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Tricia Escobedo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Gary Strieker had every reason to be a pessimist. Gary Strieker, who passed away in July 2022, helped establish CNN's presence in Africa. Courtesy Strieker family Born in the tiny Illinois farm town of Breese in 1944, Gary Gerard Strieker moved to San Diego, California at a young age. Courtesy Strieker family Strieker is remembered by his family and colleagues as a quiet, humble man who never lost his optimistic spirit or tireless energy for making the world a better place. Courtesy Strieker family Strieker was the network's only correspondent on the African continent for some time, covering the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s and other major moments in history, including the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

☆ Pakistan repays $1 bln international bond -central bank spokesman
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan repaid a $1 billion international bond, the central bank spokesman said on Friday, amidst growing uncertainty about the country's ability to meet external financing obligations. "The payment (was) made to Citibank New York," State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) spokesman Abid Qamar told Reuters in a message. The bond repayment, which matures on Dec. 5, totals $1.08 billion, the central bank chief said last week. During the week ended Nov. 25, SBP reserves stood at $7,498.7 million. Saudi Arabia on Friday also extended the term of a $3 billion deposit it has in Pakistan's foreign reserves.

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