Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) -New Zealand’s central bank on Friday issued a formal warning to National Australia Bank (OTC:NABZY) Ltd’s local unit for failing to report around 50,000 transactions as required by anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws.The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said NAB’s Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) did not report accurate locations for around 50,000 local and physical cash transactions between November 2018 and April 2020.However, BNZ promptly rectified the issue and identified the problem as a “technical coding error”, it added.Under New Zealand’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws, companies are required to report transactions such as international wire transfers to the police’s financial intelligence unit.BNZ in a statement said it had reported the error to the Reserve Bank after becoming aware of the issue in August 2020 and set about fixing it immediately.”BNZ takes its focus on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism compliance very seriously. We are continuously reviewing our processes and procedures, working with regulators and other authorities, and investing heavily in this area,” it added.Last year, Westpac Banking (NYSE:WBK) Corp’s local unit also received a formal warning for failing to report around 8,000 transactions. New Zealand-owned TSB Bank was fined NZ$3.5 million ($2.16 million) after the bank accepted it had not complied with the requirements of the Act.Westpac and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) have both received hefty fines in recent years in Australia after admitting to breaches of the regulatory framework put in place following revelations of widespread misconduct.The Reserve Bank of New Zealand highlighted its formal warning to BNZ as an example to other organisations of their obligation to meet regulations for anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism.($1 = 1.6197 New Zealand dollars) More

The latest increase to the bank’s benchmark interest rate was for 50 basis points.Peru lowered the rate to 0.25% in April 2020, at the time the lowest level among emerging markets seeking to boost economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then began raising it last August. With Thursday’s hike, the interest rate reached a 13-year high.Annual inflation through June stood at 8.81%, higher than at any time in the past quarter century, amid increases in food and energy costs, made worse by the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Peru’s inflation rate is well above the central bank’s target range of between 1% and 3%. The bank expects inflation to return to the target range, however, between the second and third quarters of next year.Twelve-month inflation expectations rose to 5.35% in June from 4.89% in May, significantly above the target range’s upper limit, according to official data. The bank added in a statement that most leading economic indicators and expectations deteriorated in June and remain on a “pessimistic” path.Peru’s monetary authority said that the downward path of year-on-year inflation should begin this month – repeating its guidance from June – due to what it described as a “moderating effect” on international food and energy prices plus an economy performing below its full potential. More

In a report that the Bank of England will study as it weighs up its next interest rate decision, a measure of permanent staff hiring by accountants KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) fell sharply to 54.8 from 59.2 in May.That was the seventh month in a row that it has declined. Although it remained above the 50 threshold for growth, it was the lowest reading in 16 months, as was the REC’s measure of temporary staff hiring.Neil Carberry, REC chief executive, said the data showed the labour market was still strong but suggested that the peak of the post-pandemic hiring spree had passed.”The big question now is the effect that inflation has on pay and consumer demand over the course of the rest of the year,” he said.The BoE has said it is ready to act forcefully if it sees signs that the recent jump in inflation to more than 9% is creating more persistent inflation problems. But it is also worried that Britain’s economy is losing momentum.Vacancies increased at the slowest pace since March 2021, the survey showed. Starting salaries were the weakest since August for permanent workers and since July last year for temporary workers.The availability of candidates in three months shrank by the most in three months, in part because of hesitancy by people to switch jobs in the face of uncertainty about the economy. More

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – An Indian cement maker’s recent purchase of Russian coal using yuan involved India’s biggest private lender, HDFC Bank, according to an invoice seen by Reuters and a source, as more details emerge of the kind of trade that could blunt Western sanctions against Moscow.There is no suggestion that the purchase, the particulars of which have not previously been reported, in any way breaches sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.But the document shows one way in which Russia could continue to sell commodities abroad without settling in U.S. dollars despite restrictions aimed at freezing it out of financial markets.According to the invoice dated June 5 and a source familiar with the matter, HDFC Bank backed cement maker Ultratech’s purchase of Russian coal from producer and trader SUEK for 172.7 million yuan ($25.74 million).The letter of credit for the deal was issued by HDFC Bank’s Mumbai suburban branch of Andheri East, according to the invoice. The dollar is the currency of choice for global trade in raw materials, but some traders say the yuan could be increasingly used to settle payments for supplies from Russia. In the invoice, SUEK requests Ultratech remit the 172.7 million yuan to SUEK’s account at the Shanghai branch of China Everbright (OTC:CHFFF) Bank. SUEK lists the Hong Kong branch of international lender HSBC as the correspondent bank. A correspondent bank acts as a middleman in the transfer of money from one bank to another. Reuters could not determine if a payment had been received by China Everbright or if HSBC or any other bank was involved in a transfer of funds. HDFC Bank and HSBC declined to comment. Ultratech, SUEK and China Everbright Bank did not respond to requests for comment. It was not clear from the invoice which currencies were used to effect the yuan payment. The amount listed was quoted in Chinese yuan and Reuters reported last week that Ultratech imported 157,000 tonnes of coal from Switzerland-registered SUEK and agreed to settle the final payment in that currency.YUAN TRADES STILL RAREFor India, such payment methods could become more common as it seeks to maintain trade ties with Russia for commodities including oil and coal without the risk of contravening Western sanctions.India has deep political and security ties with Russia and has refrained from condemning the Ukraine war, which Russia says is a “special military operation”.India’s energy imports from Russia have soared recently as traders, unable to sell into many Western markets, have offered steep discounts.New Delhi defends its purchases of Russian goods, saying they are legal and that a sudden halt would inflate prices further and hurt consumers.    Greater use of the yuan to settle payments could help insulate Moscow from punishment and bolster Beijing’s push to further internationalise the yuan and chip away at the dominance of the U.S. dollar in global trade.It is, however, still rare for an Indian firm to agree to settle a trade with a non-Chinese company in yuan. In the absence of sanctions, overseas payments to Russian commodity and energy companies would typically be made in dollars via SWIFT to Russian accounts.For Indian trade settlements using the yuan, lenders would potentially send dollars to foreign banks with sufficient yuan reserves, or Chinese banks they have tie-ups with, in exchange for yuan to settle the trade.The invoice mentioned the SWIFT transaction IDs of both HSBC’s Hong Kong branch and China Everbright’s Shanghai branch. Reuters could not confirm whether any payment was made using the SWIFT platform.SWIFT is a secure messaging system that facilitates rapid cross-border payments, making international trade flow smoothly. Several Russian banks have been cut off from the system in recent months.”As a matter of policy, SWIFT does not comment on flows between institutions,” a spokesman said.India’s bilateral trade with China, for which companies largely pay in dollars, has flourished even after a deadly military border clash between the two in 2020 that ratcheted up tensions that have still not subsided.New Delhi has increased scrutiny on Chinese investments and imports, and banned some mobile apps over security concerns.The Indian government and the central bank were aware of potential payments for Russian cargo in Chinese yuan, sources told Reuters last week. The government and central bank did not comment for this article.($1 = 6.7096 Chinese yuan renminbi) More