As the US's economic recovery picks up steam, the Federal Reserve has tapered purchases of debt securities and expects to raise interest rates later this year. First quarter results of the largest US commercial banks show that they are more than prepared for the challenges that will follow.
While BAC Panama remained in top position, other Colombian-owned lenders fared less well in the Top 100 Central American Banks ranking, leaving the way open for Panamanian, Costa Rican and Guatemalan banks to make up ground.
Quantitative easing, the long-awaited European Central Bank initiative, has finally arrived. The programme might spell narrower interest margins for European banks, but Deutsche Bank and Rabobank have both managed to increase their net interest incomes.
The stand-off between Greece and the rest of the eurozone over the terms of the country’s bail-out raises uncertainty over local banks’ funding ability. With a troubling combination of low deposits and likely shortfalls in European Central Bank funding,The Banker looks at how they might cope.