Latest news with #commercialbanks
Zawya
26-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Ethiopia imposes ceiling on forex transaction fees
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has directed all commercial banks to set fees and charges related to purchases of foreign exchange (FX), limiting them to not more than 4 percent, with effect from May 26. The policy shift is part of the latest round of measures to further transform the foreign exchange market following Ethiopia's decision to liberalise the market starting July last year. The new measures announced on May 20 also prohibit lenders from imposing additional charges, with forex related fees of all banks expected to be clearly disclosed to the public on a regular basis on the NBE website starting June.'To bring Ethiopia's foreign exchange related fees closer in line with global norms, NBE is also advising banks to ensure competitive, transparent and simplified pricing for their FX services. Accordingly, effective May 26 ,2025, all bank fees and charges related to the purchase of foreign exchange—for import of goods, service payments, or cash note purchases—shall not exceed 4 percent,' the regulator said.'Moreover, to ensure that FX fees are kept transparent and simplified for consumers, NBE is instructing banks to avoid the addition of various supplementary charges for minor, associated services,' it added. As part of the latest changes, NBE has raised the limit for importers' advance payments to $50,000 from $5,000 per import transaction. This is meant to address a long-standing constraint that has been limiting the amount of forex that importers could provide upfront to their foreign suppliers. NBE has also increased the forex cash limits for travellers, allowing purchases of up to $10,000 for personal travellers and up to $15,000 for business travellers—in cash or via debit card. The egulator expressed confidence that the changes would help to ensure 'an active, competitive, and steadily growing foreign exchange market that satisfactorily meets the needs of Ethiopia's banking consumers and private sector'. NBE has regularly been reviewing the performance of the foreign exchange market since the transition to a new FX regime on July 29, 2024. In October 2024 the regulator ordered commercial banks to disclose to customers all fees and commissions related to trading in foreign currency, saying forex related fees and commissions are to be separately disclosed, reported, and charged to bank clients. NBE started implementing a flexible exchange rate regime policy in late July 2024 as part of new measures to stabilise the economy. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
CNA
23-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
China lowers deposit rate ceilings to protect bank interest margins, sources say
BEIJING: China has lowered the ceilings on deposit rates, three banking sources with direct knowledge of the guidance said on Friday (May 23), as authorities seek to protect banks' profit margins and discourage savings. The interest rate self-regulatory body under China's central bank has lowered the upper limit of deposit rates banks can offer their clients, the sources said. The move came days after China cut benchmark lending rates and state banks reduced their baseline deposit rates. China's economy is suffering from weak consumption, a prolonged property crisis and a trade war with the United States, putting pressure on banks' profitability. "Banks' interest margins are under heavy pressure," one of the sources said. Every 10 basis-point (bp) cut in deposit rates could reduce overall borrowing costs by roughly 5 bps, the source added. Under the latest guidance, the ceilings for some banks' time deposit rates have been slashed by 30-40 bps, according to the sources. In contrast, China's major banks reduced baseline deposit rates by up to 25 basis points (bps) for some tenors on Tuesday. This reflects regulators' desire to prevent interest margins from shrinking further, as some banks compete heavily to build deposits by promising high returns. Amid the heated competition for deposits, reducing the rate ceilings can give some breathing space for banks already suffering from sliding margins, a source said. Commercial banks' net interest margin - a key profitability measure - dropped to a record low 1.43 per cent in the first quarter of this year, official data showed. The margins are expected to fall a further 10-15 bps this year, analysts at China International Capital Corp predicted.
South China Morning Post
19-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's new home prices stabilise as rate cut, lifeline funding lift market confidence
Home prices in major cities in mainland China stabilised, holding onto recent gains as lower borrowing costs and state-led measures to support developers helped inject confidence in the market. Advertisement Prices of new homes in China's four first-tier cities were unchanged in April from a month ago, following a 0.1 per cent rise in March, according to data covering 70 large and medium-sized cities published by the statistics bureau on Monday. Prices in second-tier cities were also unchanged, while those in third-tier cities slipped 0.2 per cent, it added. Beijing and Shanghai recorded a 0.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent gain, respectively, while those in Guangzhou and Shenzhen declined 0.2 and 0.1 per cent, the report showed. 'This marks a phased victory for cities at all levels,' said Yan Yuejin, vice-president of E-House China Real Estate Research Institute in Shanghai. 'Continued momentum will be needed in the second quarter' to sustain the market recovery over the past seven months, he added. 08:23 China unveils policy package to guard against US tariffs ahead of trade talks in Switzerland China unveils policy package to guard against US tariffs ahead of trade talks in Switzerland China's central bank cut the mortgage rate on housing provident funds by a quarter-point cut on May 7 for first-time homebuyers, bringing it down to a record low 2.6 per cent. The nation's commercial banks have also approved 6.7 trillion yuan (US$929 billion) of loans to 'whitelist' housing projects to date, covering nearly 16 million homes, it added.
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China loosens gold import quotas with eye on arresting yuan rally
BEIJING/SHANGHAI, May 8 (Reuters) - China's central bank has approved foreign exchange purchases by some commercial banks to pay for gold imports under recently increased quotas, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The People's Bank of China's (PBOC) gold import quotas for the country's big banks determine how much bullion enters the world's leading consumer of the precious metal. It has in the past tweaked these quotas to help calibrate demand for dollars. The sources said the PBOC raised such quotas for gold imports last month and has now also allowed the banks to buy the dollars to fund these gold imports. The move comes on the heels of a raft of stimulus measures announced by Chinese authorities on Wednesday, including interest rate cuts and a major liquidity injection, as Beijing steps up efforts to soften the economic damage caused by the trade war with the United States. It could help lenders meet a significantly increased appetite for gold while slowing the pace of yuan appreciation, one of the sources said. The new quotas come at a time when gold has rallied sharply against the backdrop of market volatility induced by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. That has also driven the yuan and other Asian currencies higher as investors unwind carry trades or move money out of U.S. assets and back into Asia. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk about the matter. The PBOC did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The increase in gold imports could prevent a sudden rally in the yuan, which would be a double whammy for exporters already under pressure from the intensifying trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. Damage from high tariffs on Chinese goods under U.S. President Donald Trump has started to filter through to economic activities, as seen from slumping new export orders in April. Gold, traditionally seen as a refuge from political and economic uncertainty, scaled an all-time high of $3,500 per ounce last month, boosted by tariff war fears and strong investment demand in China and elsewhere. Despite high gold prices, China's central bank also increased gold reserves for the sixth straight month in April, official data showed on Wednesday.
