Cyprus Banks Reopen Thursday after Ten Days of Closure

After a closure of ten days, banks in Cyprus are to reopen on Thursday at 10:00 GMT. The banks were closed to prevent a bank run as a controversial bailout was negotiated.

The announcement comes after several false announcements of when bank customers would be able to access their funds. But now it seems to be real as it comes from Cypriot central bank's Aliki Stylianou who said Wednesday:

"I am telling you that all banks are definitely going to open tomorrow."

Banks will open their doors between noon and 18:00 local time (10:00-16:00 GMT), the Cypriot central bank said. The announcement comes after Bank of Cyprus head was sacked.

Customers will also be limited to withdrawing 300 euros ($383 / £253) a day, to prevent everyone fleeing with their savings.

via BBC Business
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Major Chinese banks to skip World Bank, IMF talks in Japan as a protest over Territorial Dispute

Major Chinese banks will skip World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings this week in Japan, China's state media said, in apparent protest over a territorial dispute between the two countries.

Map courtesy LNG World News

China and Japan are locked in a festering row over East China Sea islands that has seen the two sides trade insults, touched off protests in China, and hurt Japanese firms doing business in the Chinese market.

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Four state-owned banks -- the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agriculture Bank of China -- will not attend the meetings, Xinhua news agency reported late on Monday.

Read details: Business Recorder

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30bn euros for Spain Banks

Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to lend Spain 30bn euros (£24bn; $37bn) this month to help its troubled banks.

It will be the first installment of a bailout of up to 100bn euros, which was agreed in June.

The ministers will need to get approval from their own parliaments and hope to make the payment by the end of July.

The eurozone finance ministers also agreed to extend the 2013 deadline for Spain to cut its budget deficit to the EU limit of 3% by one year.

Read more: BBC News

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European shares dip as Spanish banks fall

The euro neared a three-month low and safe-haven German bonds and the Japanese yen rose on Wednesday as political disarray in Greece and the rising costs of fixing Spain's banks fueled fears the euro zone debt crisis would take a sharp turn for the worse.

The concerns over Europe added to worries about the impact of softer growth in the U.S. on the global economy to push down European shares. 

Spanish 10-year bond yields climbed back above 6 percent - a point away from levels deemed unsustainable - and investors kept a wary eye on Athens, where efforts to form a government were expected to fail, putting its bailout deal in doubt and raising the possibility of Greece being forced out of the euro.

Read more: Money Control

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HSBC under scrutiny for money laundering

HSBC Holdings PLC is under investigation by a U.S. Senate panel in a money-laundering inquiry, the latest step in a long-running U.S. effort to halt shadowy money flows through global banks, according to people familiar with the situation and a company securities filing.

The inquiry being conducted by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations could yield a report and congressional hearing later this spring, these people said. The subcommittee has a history of conducting high-profile hearings that have proved embarrassing for the world's biggest banks, reports Reuters.

Read more: Reuters

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Moody's Downgrades Top French Banks

[ The New York Times ] 9 Dec

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday downgraded the three largest banks in France, and said there was a “very high” probability that the French government would step in to support them if conditions worsened.

Just a day earlier, Europe’s main banking regulator said that all French banks had passed a test designed to see whether financial institutions have enough capital to weather unexpected shocks. ut Moody's is of the opinion that  the banks could face further losses on their holdings of Greek and Italian government bonds, should the crisis deepen.

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S&P may downgrade European Union, large euro-zone banks

[ Reuters ] 8 Dec

Standard & Poor's warned on Wednesday that it could cut the credit ratings of the European Union and large euro-zone banks if a mass downgrade of euro-zone countries materializes.

S&P said on Monday it may downgrade nearly all 17 euro-zone countries if EU leaders fail to agree on a solution for the region's debt crisis during Friday's summit.

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Moody's Downgrades 10 German Banks

Full Story: Business Insider / Money Game 16 Nov

Moody's has downgraded the long-term debt ratings of 10 German public-sector banks (primarily Landesbanken), extended the review of one and confirmed the ratings of another Wednesday.

The downgrades stem from its assumption that the banks have a lower likelihood of external support, says Business Insider.

For more on this, read full story.

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