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US officials will hold talks with Bangladesh's interim government to see how the United States can support the country's economy and development, the US State and Treasury departments said on Tuesday.

An interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in last month, with the aim of holding elections in the South Asian nation, after the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina following deadly protests.

A State Department statement said Donald Lu, assistant secretary for South Asia, will be part of a US delegation holding meetings with the Bangladeshi interim government. Lu will also visit India during the Sept 10-16 trip.

The State Department said the delegation would include representatives from the Treasury, USAID, and the Office of the US Trade Representative.

"US and Bangladeshi officials will discuss how the United States can support Bangladesh’s economic growth, financial stability and development needs," the statement said.

A US Treasury spokesperson said the delegation was expected to meet with high-level members of the interim government, including Yunus, foreign affairs adviser Mohammad Touhid Hossain, finance and commerce adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, and Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan Mansur.

"The United States is optimistic that, by implementing needed reforms, Bangladesh can address its economic vulnerabilities and build a foundation for continued growth and increased prosperity," Brent Neiman, assistant Treasury secretary for international finance, said in a statement.

Bangladesh's US$450 billion (RM1.95 trillion) economy has slowed sharply since the Russia-Ukraine war pushed up prices of fuel and food imports, forcing it to turn to the International Monetary Fund last year for a US$4.7 billion bailout.

In India, Lu and Jedidiah Royal, US principal deputy assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs, will discuss defence cooperation and ways to expand US-India collaboration in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, the State Department statement said.

Source: Theedgemarkets

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Datuk Seri Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour has expressed hope for wider acceptance and use of Islamic finance as a vehicle to drive efforts to transition to a greener economy.

Speaking to more than 140 participants at the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC)-UK Business Forum 2024 here on Tuesday (Sept 10), Abdul Rasheed said principles of justice, inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability are central to Islamic finance, values that are critical in today’s economic landscape.

“We are seeing flows into high-quality investments that are in line with our investment aspirations, which include uplifting Malaysia’s economic complexity, enabling high-value-added activities, generating high-income jobs and creating strong economic linkages, both domestically and globally.

“We also see sustainable finance and Islamic finance as important levers to address the economy’s funding needs, as well as to serve as an international gateway for Asia and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) markets, with respect to shariah-compliant investments,” he said.

The business forum, which aims to strengthen the Malaysia-UK partnership in fostering cross-border investments, particularly in the green sector, was jointly organised by BNM and MIFC Leadership Council (MLC), with the Islamic Finance Council United Kingdom (UKIFC), TheCityUK, and UK Islamic Finance — Halal Economy Hybrid Group as supporting partners.

Abdul Rasheed explained that Islamic finance in Malaysia is anchored by value-based intermediation (VBI) strategies, and the sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) framework.

“The Central Bank of Malaysia and Securities Commission Malaysia are actively working to unlock the full potential of new growth sectors by integrating Islamic finance with sustainable and green finance initiatives.

“These developments build upon the progress made over four decades since the introduction of Islamic finance in Malaysia in developing a progressive, inclusive and resilient financial ecosystem,” he added.

Further in his address, the governor also said he hopes that the forum will be able to achieve stronger cross-border investment linkages that serve as catalysts for economic growth and investment opportunities.

Meanwhile, BNM, in its statement, said the MIFC-UK Business Forum would serve as a catalyst to advance the partnership between MLC and UKIFC, to implement the memorandum of cooperation signed at the Global Forum on Islamic Economics and Finance in May 2024.

“The collaboration is envisioned to be mutually reinforcing for the two countries. This can be achieved by leveraging Malaysia as the global gateway for Islamic finance opportunities for Asia and the OIC markets, and the UK as a global financial centre,” it said.

Source: Theedgemarkets

Ally Financial's credit challenges have intensified over the current quarter as borrowers struggled with high inflation, the consumer lender's finance chief said on Tuesday.

Shares of the company fell as much as 19.3%, set for their worst day since March 2020, if losses hold.

Consumers have been cutting back on loans amid high interest rates, with the looming economic uncertainty also upping the chances of more loan defaults.

In July and August, delinquencies and net charge-offs - that is, debts unlikely to be recovered - rose about 20 and 10 basis points, respectively, in Ally's retail auto business compared with its expectations, Chief Financial Officer Russell Hutchinson told investors at a financial conference in New York.

"Our borrower is struggling with high inflation and cost of living, and now more recently, a weakening employment picture."

Hutchinson warned that Ally will see some underperformance given the number of struggling borrowers, especially in the 61-plus-day delinquency bucket, and added that he expects reserves to move up.

"Clearly, the guide was disappointing and begs the question if this is ALLY-specific or a canary in the coal mine," said Sanjay Sakhrani, managing director at brokerage KBW.

While Ally's peers had also spoken about the situation, the trends were not as feared, he added.

To address the credit issue, Ally sold its lending business earlier this year to Synchrony Financial, which included loan receivables worth $2.2 billion.

Ally also expects its net interest margin - a key measure of lending profitability - to contract in the third quarter sequentially as opposed to expanding.

Source: Theedgemarkets

Goldman Sachs is close to finalizing a deal to transfer its General Motors credit card business to Barclays, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The exit from the business partnership with GM, with about $2 billion of outstanding balances, is part of Goldman Sachs' move to narrow its focus on consumer services.

The companies are still involved in final negotiations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Goldman Sachs and Barclays declined to comment.

The Wall Street bank is expected to take a hit on the business in the third quarter.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said on Monday at a conference the sale of loans to small and medium sized retail businesses, and its plans to exit the GM credit card partnership will likely mean a pretax charge.

"The combination of those things this quarter will likely have an approximately $400 million pre-tax impact, largely showing up in revenues," Solomon said.

Goldman Sachs had planned to scrap its co-branded credit cards with GM last November. The credit card program, issued by Mastercard through Goldman Sachs, was launched in 2022 to let customers earn more points to put towards buying or leasing Buicks, Cadillacs and other GM cars.

Source: Theedgemarkets