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Swiss financial regulator Finma has defended its decision to wipe out the value of risky additional tier 1 bonds as part of the Credit Suisse rescue deal. The move enraged some bondholders because Credit Suisse shareholders will receive a payout. In a statement on Thursday, Finma said the AT1s “contractually provide that they will be

UK inflation unexpectedly accelerated in February, adding to pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates again at its meeting on Thursday. The annual rate of consumer price inflation rose to 10.4 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. That was up from 10.1 per cent in January

UBS’s rescue of Credit Suisse is expected to result in tens of thousands of job cuts, with Switzerland’s financial sector already bracing for a heavy hit from the contentious takeover. Credit Suisse’s domestic business and its investment bank, which collectively employ more than 30,000 staff, are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts, according

Asian bank debt and shares fell on Monday after the wipeout of $17bn of Credit Suisse bonds in a takeover by UBS, sparking concern about similar debt and heralding further turmoil in European markets. HSBC shares fell 6 per cent in Hong Kong, while Standard Chartered fell 5 per cent and Bank of East Asia

Credit Suisse, UBS and their key regulators are racing to thrash out a deal on the historic merger of Switzerland’s two biggest banks as soon as Saturday evening, people familiar with the situation told the Financial Times. The Swiss National Bank and regulator Finma have told international counterparts that they regard a deal with UBS

UBS is in discussions to take over all or part of Credit Suisse, with the boards of Switzerland’s two biggest lenders set to meet separately over the weekend to consider what would be Europe’s most consequential banking combination since the financial crisis, according to multiple people briefed on the talks. The Swiss National Bank and

The largest US banks have banded together to deposit $30bn into First Republic Bank in an attempt to bolster its finances and contain the fallout from the collapse of two big lenders in the past week. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will each deposit $5bn into First Republic, a California-based lender.

Jeremy Hunt has delivered a defiantly upbeat Budget that offered a £9bn tax break for business, an extension of free childcare and a surprise pension boost for the well-off. The chancellor on Wednesday claimed Britain’s economy was “proving the doubters wrong”, as he announced a 100 per cent tax break for business investment to try

Jeremy Hunt will on Wednesday announce billions of pounds to boost business investment and measures to bolster Britain’s workforce, including a big expansion in free childcare, in a “Budget for growth”. The chancellor has pledged that business will be the main beneficiary of any tax cuts in his Budget, but he is constrained by a

Shares of Japan’s biggest banks dropped sharply on Tuesday as global markets reacted to a US banking sector sell-off and uncertainty over interest rates in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Traders in Tokyo said they were expecting a second day of massive equity market support from the Bank of Japan to

US regulators said Silicon Valley Bank depositors would be fully repaid as they acted to shore up the banking system after the lender’s implosion, unveiling emergency funding measures and closing down a second financial institution. The Federal Reserve announced a new lending facility on Sunday aimed at providing extra funding to eligible institutions to ensure

UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt was on Saturday locked in talks over how to stop the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank from dealing a heavy blow to Britain’s tech sector. More than 200 UK-based tech company executives have urged Downing Street to step in, warning that many companies faced an “existential threat” because they banked with

Silicon Valley Bank was shuttered by US regulators on Friday after customers raced to withdraw $42bn — a quarter of its total deposits — in one day and a failed effort to raise new capital called into question the future of the tech-focused lender. With about $209bn in assets, SVB has become the second-largest bank

Investors wiped $52.4bn off the market value of the four largest US banks by assets on Thursday amid a widespread sell-off of financial stocks that analysts linked to investor fears over the value of lenders’ bond portfolios. The sell-off in JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo appeared to have been sparked by

JPMorgan Chase is suing Jes Staley, a former top executive, in an attempt to make him liable for any penalties the US bank might have to pay if it is found to have facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes in two high-profile lawsuits. Staley, who is alleged in the lawsuits to have “personally observed” Epstein

Jay Powell warned the US Federal Reserve is prepared to return to bigger interest rate rises to fight inflation at a congressional appearance on Tuesday. In his first public intervention since data releases showed the central bank struggling to cool the US economy despite a year-long campaign of monetary tightening, the Fed chair signalled his

Private credit groups including Apollo, Ares and Blackstone are poised to write the largest direct loan on record as they continue to muscle in on a lucrative business traditionally dominated by Wall Street banks. The lenders are increasingly confident they can edge out investment banks including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs on a deal to fund

One of Credit Suisse’s longest-standing shareholders has sold its entire stake in the scandal-hit Swiss bank after losing patience with its strategy amid persistent losses and a client exodus. US investment manager Harris Associates, whose deputy chair and chief investment officer David Herro was for years among the Swiss bank’s most prominent supporters, owned as

Federal Reserve officials are converging around the need to keep US interest rates high for longer, reflecting concern about recent hotter-than-expected inflation data and worries about global economic trends that could fuel price pressures. “In order to put this episode of high inflation behind us, further policy tightening, maintained for a longer time, will probably

The Financial Conduct Authority has been blamed by some UK officials and SoftBank staff for London losing out to New York on the blockbuster stock market listing of chip designer Arm. SoftBank, the Japanese owner of the Cambridge-based semiconductor company, this week dashed Rishi Sunak’s hopes of retaining the homegrown tech giant, rejecting entreaties from