Simon Mugo
LeapRate Analyst

Simon has over six years of professional trading experience across FX, commodities and equities. He has a strong passion for financial markets and is particularly focused on price action trading.
Santander bank
February 14, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Santander Says It Did Not Violate US Sanctions on Iran

An internal communication, initially disclosed by Bloomberg News and subsequently verified by Reuters, revealed that Santander's global head of communications announced the bank had undertaken an extensive examination of connections to entities and individuals mentioned in the FT report. The investigation concluded that there were no sanctions breaches within any segment of Santander's international operations.…

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ANZ bank
February 13, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

ANZ Bank Plans To Fire 170 Commercial Banking Staff, Union Says

In recent years, the Australian banking sector has consistently pushed towards digitisation and automation, aiming to streamline operations and enhance customer service. This shift has led to reevaluating staffing needs, particularly in back-office roles increasingly being augmented or replaced by advanced technologies. While ANZ has refrained from officially confirming the exact number of job reductions,…

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Russian President Putin
February 13, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Russia Issues Warning to the West About Seizing Its State Assets

The situation arose after the United States, along with its allies, imposed restrictions on dealings with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to deploy troops to Ukraine in 2022. These measures effectively immobilised approximately $300 billion of Russia’s sovereign assets in Western countries. On Monday, the European Union announced the…

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February 12, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

ECB Should Start Cutting Rates Soon, Says Italy’s Fabio Panetta

Speaking at the Assiom Forex conference in Genoa, ECB Governing Council member Fabio Panetta highlighted the need for the next monetary policy adjustment to mirror the current phase of disinflation and the diminished likelihood of a wage-price spiral, noting the increasing impact of rate hikes on economic performance. Panetta, who assumed the role of Bank…

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ANZ bank
February 12, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

ANZ Bank’s Shares Rise to a 22-Month High on Q1 In-Line Revenues

By 2320 GMT, the shares had climbed nearly 1% to A$27.93, reaching levels not seen since April 21, 2022, in contrast to a 0.3% decrease in the broader market index. The bank's institutional banking services have seen a surge in demand, leading to a record annual profit last year, boosted significantly by a payments platform…

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Mediobanca
February 09, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Italy’s Mediobanca’s H1 Profits Surged Higher, Beating Estimates

Nagel emphasised the transformative nature of the recent performance, highlighting it as a manifestation of the group's new strategic direction. "Our progress has been substantial and highly efficient in generating and utilising capital," he remarked. This was underscored by the bank's core capital ratio, which stood at 15.3% of risk-weighted assets, surpassing analysts' forecasts from…

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Barclays office building
February 09, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Barclays Announces Plans To Curb Fossil Fuel Funding

This decision is a critical component of its newly unveiled Transition Finance Framework (TFF), introduced amid growing scrutiny from environmental advocates concerning its energy financing policies in light of rising emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Starting in 2025, the financial institution plans to limit its financing to companies that are not diversified, such as those…

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Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo
February 08, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Italy’s Intesa Bank Is on Track To Exit Its Russian Operations Fully

The move was further supported in September when President Vladimir Putin issued a decree allowing for transactions involving these assets. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, CEO Carlo Messina revealed that Intesa has significantly reduced its exposure in Russia to a "minimal" level. Yet, the bank has struggled to wholly disentangle itself from its subsidiary…

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PBB Deutsche Pfandbriefbank
February 08, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

PBB, a German Bank, Says It Can Handle the US Real Estate Crisis

PBB, a part of the SDAX small-cap index that strongly emphasises real estate financing, made this reassurance in its second extraordinary disclosure in as many days as its equity and debt instruments experienced market pressure. The bank had previously characterised the current situation in the U.S. market as "the most significant real estate crisis since…

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Banca_Monte_dei_Paschi_di_Siena_in_Pisa
February 07, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Monte Paschi Bank Announced Its First Dividend Payout in 13 Years

Alongside major Italian banks such as Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI), MPS has benefited significantly from the rise in interest rates. Additionally, the bank has gained from positive outcomes in several legal disputes with former executives, alongside ongoing restructuring efforts led by CEO Luigi Lovaglio. Thanks to the favourable court decisions, the bank could…

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