FRANKFURT: Key euro zone three-month bank-to-bank lending rates edged towards all-time lows on Wednesday, pulled down by the huge amount of excess cash created by the European Central Bank's recent unprecedented injections of long-term liquidity. The ECB, which kept euro zone interest rates at 1.0 percent again this month, has poured more than 1 trillion euros of ultra-cheap, three-year funds into the banking system since the end of last year, halving interbank rates in the process. Three-month ...

BEIJING: China's bank regulators are examining the causes of volatility in the pace of new lending, but have no plans to make changes to the loan-to-deposit ratio that banks must abide by, the vice chairman of the industry watchdog said on Wednesday. New lending is directed at Beijing's behest, making it a key component of monetary policy operations in China and a crucial barometer of economic activity. Fresh loans hit a 21-month low in September 2011, only ...

PORT LOUIS: State Bank of Mauritius's(SBM) nine-month pretax profits rose 25 percent to 2.44 billion rupees ($83 million), driven mainly by higher net interest income. SBM, the Indian Ocean island's second-largest bank by assets, said non-interest income rose to 1.5 billion rupees from 1.3 billion a year ago, while net interest income rose to 2.32 billion rupees from 1.89 billion for the nine months ended March 31. Earnings per share rose to 7.60 rupees from 6.21 rupees. The ...