Weekly Global News Wrap: Deutsche Bank sells $50b in assets to Goldman Sachs; Lebanon to slash interest rates

And 37 emerging markets cut their benchmark interest rates in November.

From Reuters:

Deutsche Bank has sold $50b in unwanted assets to Goldman Sachs as part of its restructuring, three people with knowledge of the matter revealed.

The assets, related to emerging-market debt, were part of Deutsche’s unit to wind down unwanted securities, sources said.

As part of a broad overhaul, Deutsche has hived off billions in assets into a so-called capital release unit, also called a bad bank. The sale to Goldman marks the latest in a series of disposals of such assets.

From Bloomberg:

Lebanon’s central bank will slash interest rates in an attempt to ease the country’s economic crisis, and is considering formalizing temporary capital controls set individually by local lenders.

Governor Riad Salameh told the Association of Banks in Lebanon that he will issue a circular within days to lower rates “to revive the economy” and limit the increase in “doubtful” loans, a document on the meeting revealed.

Salameh is considering issuing instructions that would formalize recent restrictions on capital movements imposed by commercial lenders, according to the document. The measures would reportedly be temporary until a government is formed and the financial and economic situation returns to normal, the document stipulated.

The governor also shared that $109.2m (165 billion Lebanese pounds) had been withdrawn per day from the central bank in the last two months.

From Reuters: 

Emerging market policymakers extended the interest rate cut cycle further in the past month, taking their lead from major central banks and joining in efforts to shore up their economies.

Interest rate moves by central banks across a group of 37 developing economies showed a net 8 cuts last month after a net 9 cuts in October.

Notably, China’s central bank lowered its lending benchmark rate on 20 November to reduce company funding costs and shore up an economy hurt by slowing demand and trade tensions.

More recently, Tajikistan’s central bank cut its refinancing rate to 12.25% from 13.25% on 2 December, saying inflation in the nation was likely to remain in line with its forecasts. 

Photo courtesy of Bjorn Laczay (Wikimedia Commons).