Topic: Banking

Greek political leaders said they had clinched a deal on economic reforms and spending cuts needed to secure a second bailout, but euro zone finance ministers demanded more measures and a parliamentary seal of approval before providing the aid.

DBS Group, Southeast Asia's biggest lender, posted an unexpected 8 percent rise in quarterly earnings as strong loans growth more than made up for subdued interest rates.

Bank of Communications, China's fifth-largest bank by assets, plans to raise 50 billion yuan ($7.9 billion) through a private share placement to meet stricter bank capital requirements, IFR reported on Thursday. 

Homeowners who kept up on their payments would lose while those who fell behind would win under an apparent deal between big banks and state governments, banking analyst Dick Bove said.

Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, last week joined Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and Romania's communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu on the list of people who have had their knighthoods rescinded by the UK.

Greek leaders clinched a long-stalled deal on reforms and austerity measures needed to secure a bailout and avoid a messy default just hours before the country's financial backers were to meet in Brussels on Thursday.

The European Central Bank’s injection of cheap money into the European banking system last December has taken the pressure off the euro zone politicians for the moment, but they still have to take further action, a German economist told CNBC.

The European Central Bank’s second injection of long-term liquidity into markets could reach as much as 1 trillion euros ($1.33 trillion), analysts predict.

More than a dozen traders and brokers in London and Asia have been fired, suspended or put on leave by their employers as a multinational probe into alleged manipulation of crucial global lending rates accelerates, the Financial Times reports.

The Swiss bank cut its dividend as it swung to a net loss after it packed 981 million Swiss francs ($1.07 billion) of restructuring charges into the fourth quarter.

France's AXA  and U.S. insurer ACE are the final two suitors in the hunt to buy HSBC's $1 billion general insurance business, people familiar with the matter said.

Germany's Deutsche Bank will defer any part of an employee's bonus above 200,000 euros ($264,800) this year, a source close to the bank said, making it the latest industry player to limit pay in the face of fierce criticism of the industry.

Euro zone banking liquidity concerns have all but disappeared thanks to the European Central Bank's injection of long-term loans, but building an effective firewall against sovereign stress requires more work, a top ECB official said on Wednesday.

After the U.S. and Europe, China's economy is going to be next in line for a major credit crisis and Chinese policymakers must allow a hard landing to "cleanse" the economy, Bill Smead, CEO and Chief Investment Officer at Smead Capital Management told CNBC on Wednesday.

Beyond the reach of regulators, and about half the size of the world's banking industry, a thriving breed of "shadow banks" is emerging that could trigger the next chapter in the global financial crisis.