Author: The Banking Outlook

Nov 12 (Reuters) – Dutch bank ABN Amro (ABNd.AS), opens new tab on Wednesday said that it had acquired domestic commercial lender NIBC Bank from private equity firm Blackstone, strengthening its position in its home market. The acquisition, for an estimated price of 960 million euros ($1.1 billion), is set to close in the second half of next year. It is expected to improve ABN Amro’s profitability and generate a return on invested capital of roughly 18%, the bank said. Shares in ABN were up 3.4% at 1017 GMT. Analysts at ING said the takeover was “a good value for money deal…

NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) – New York Federal Reserve President John Williams reiterated on Wednesday the time is getting closer when the U.S. central bank will have to restart bond purchases as part of a technical effort to maintain control over short-term interest rates. Williams, in the text of a speech to be delivered to a conference at his regional Fed bank, noted that when these purchases happen they have no implications for monetary policy. He did not comment on the outlook for short-term interest rates in his prepared remarks. Instead, the New York Fed chief tackled the implications…

NORFOLK, Neb.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Telcoin today announced its final charter approval from the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance to launch Telcoin Digital Asset Bank, the first Digital Asset Depository Institution in the United States. The charter positions Telcoin to become the first true blockchain bank, directly connecting U.S. bank accounts to regulated “Digital Cash” stablecoins. Its flagship product, eUSD, will be the first bank-issued, on-chain U.S. dollar stablecoin, offering consumers and businesses a secure, compliant way to use Digital Cash for payments, remittances, and savings. Notably, it is also the first bank charter to explicitly authorize connecting U.S. consumers to DeFi.…

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Helix by Q2 (NYSE: QTWO), an award-winning, cloud-native core purpose-built for embedded finance, today announced that Bangor Savings Bank has chosen Helix as one of its Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform partners to help power its expansion of fintech solutions. Founded in 1852 and with more than $7 billion in assets, Bangor Savings Bank has spent the past several years building a strong foundation for its BaaS program. Today, the bank specializes in providing tailored BaaS solutions for fintech companies, ensuring they receive the support they need to grow with reliable financial services. As part of its ongoing commitment to…

TOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Bank of Japan policymakers saw a growing case to raise interest rates in the near term, with some calling for the need to ensure companies’ wage-hike momentum will be sustained, a summary of opinions at the October meeting showed on Monday. Of the 13 opinions on monetary policy from the nine-member board, eight called for the need to raise interest rates soon or laid out specific conditions to hike borrowing costs in the near-term horizon, the summary showed. The discussions heighten the chance the BOJ could hike rates next month or in January, with the…

MADRID, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Santander’s (SAN.MC), opens new tab executive chair Ana Botin warned on Tuesday against overregulation of Europe’s banking sector, saying it would hurt economic growth, and urged European governments to allow companies to invest and be more innovative. Botin’s comments come as European governments are debating whether to follow the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back rules introduced after the 2008 global financial crisis. Policymakers are attempting to ensure innovation does not compromise banks’ soundness, while some argue that the regulatory burden is holding back spending. “Regulation kills innovation … We need to understand that unless we allow companies to…

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve has moved back into line with other major rate setters after it cut rates by a quarter point on Wednesday but pushed back against market bets that it would keep going as the Washington shutdown fogs up its forecasting lens. The Bank of Japan and European Central Bank left rates unchanged on Thursday. Here’s where 10 major central banks stand after the latest round of meetings: 1/ SWITZERLAND The Swiss National Bank cut its key rate to 0% in June and is widely expected to hold steady with markets pricing a…

OTTAWA, Oct 29 (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada on Wednesday slashed its growth forecasts for both 2025 and 2026, citing the effect of U.S. trade policy, and predicted the economy would recover slightly in 2027. In its quarterly annual monetary policy report, the central bank said 2025 growth would be 1.2%, sharply down from the 1.8% predicted in January, the last time it released detailed economic forecasts. It said growth in 2026 would drop to 1.1%, down from the 1.8% forecast in January, before recovering to 1.6% in 2027. “Roughly half of the downward revision relative to the January…

In the first six months of 2025, the GCC banking industry’s average return on equity stood at 13.2%, reflecting higher noninterest income and stronger cost efficiency. The cost-to-income ratio improved to 32.0%, according to EY indicating sustained benefits from operational optimization and digital transformation. Asset quality strengthened, with non-performing loans declining to 2.4% from 2.8% a year earlier, while coverage ratios remained above 140%. Capitalization remained a core strength with an average Tier 1 ratio of 17.5% and a capital adequacy ratio of 18.9%, reinforcing the sector’s capacity to absorb external shocks. Mayur Pau, MENA Financial Services Leader at EY, said:…

BANGKOK, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Thai interest rates could be cut if needed to spark inflation and growth, but the central bank was able to hold policy steady this week as earlier cuts are still working through the economy, new Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn said on Friday. Vitai, who took office at the start of October, said he wanted to lift inflation into the BOT’s target range and focus on challenges such as high household debt, while also ensuring the central bank’s independence from political interference. “The effects of previous rate cuts have not been fully felt, but…