USD on a weaker trajectory through the second half of this year: Investment strategist
Thomas Rupf, Chief Investment Officer, Asia at VP Bank Singapore, explains why he expects more funds to switch out of the greenback and into the Euro.
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Global airlines trim 2025 profit forecast over trade tensions and supply woes
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Citi names Bank of America veteran Zhang as new China country head
HONG KONG: Citigroup said on Monday (Jun 2) it had appointed Wenjie Zhang as its new country officer and banking head for China, after the exit of its former China head in November. Zhang was also named president and executive director of Citibank China, the company said in a statement. The appointment is subject to regulatory approvals. He will act as the lead Citi representative and as its single, coordinated face in the mainland China market, the company said, leading the team and fostering strong regulatory relationships and risk controls. He will fill the role after former Citi China head Luke Lu left in November for personal reasons. Zhang will join Citi in July and will be based in Shanghai, reporting to Marc Luet, Citi's Head of Japan, Asia North and Australia and Banking, the bank said. A seasoned banker with 30 years of experience in corporate and institutional banking, Zhang was most recently the president of China and Shanghai branch manager for Bank of America China, according to Citi's statement. Prior to that, he was co-head of global banking and executive vice president at HSBC China, after stints at JPMorgan, Citi and Credit Agricole CIB. Citi is cutting up to 200 information technology (IT) contractor roles in China, two people familiar told Reuters last month, as the bank looks to hire its own staff globally for such operations to improve risk management and data governance. Citi, which already has a banking business in China, is in the process of setting up a securities unit in the country.
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BOJ sets aside maximum provision of losses for bond transactions
The Bank of Japan has set aside the maximum provision for losses on bond transactions, a spokesperson for the central bank said on Monday. The level of the provision for possible losses on bond transactions was 100 per cent for fiscal 2024, the spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters. The moves come as the Japanese central bank faces mounting pressure to keep hiking borrowing costs, after it kept short-term interest rates steady in its May meeting. The BOJ has usually kept a target of provision for losses on bond transactions around 50 per cent of gains or losses from the transactions. The Nikkei first reported BOJ setting aside maximum provision for losses on bond transactions earlier on Monday.
