Retail & Commercial

A group of investors led by Mexico's Banca Mifel and backed by the U.S. private equity giant Apollo Global Management are in talks with banks for about $2 billion of financing for their bid to buy Citigroup's Mexican retail unit Banamex.

Advisors overseeing the group's ruins have more broadly pointed to a potential commingling of digital assets, raising concerns about misuse of customer funds and making ties between the two firms a likely focus for regulators and investigators probing the collapse.

Royal Bank of Canada agreed to buy HSBC Holdings' Canadian unit — the country's seventh-largest bank — for C$13.5 billion ($10 billion) in cash, expanding its roster of business clients and bulking up its retail presence on the West Coast as HSBC focuses on Asia.

The three megabanks will see their surcharges rise by 50 basis points, according to a new analysis of regulatory data. The Federal Reserve assesses the levies as a way to compensate for the impact that the collapse of a global systemically important bank would have on the financial system.

However, a tiered pricing system will limit an inflation-driven increase to under 10% for a small group of originators.

The business development company, one of the top Small Business Administration 7(a) lenders, has been waiting since mid-2021 for regulators to sign off on its deal for a New York community bank. It hopes to get the final green light from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in time for a January closing.

Carlyle Group plans to raise at least $8.5 billion for a new private credit fund, as it competes with rivals to snap up lending business abandoned by banks.

The Canadian banking giant reached a five-year deal with community groups that includes $40 billion in investments to underserved groups. BMO aims to close its acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West before the end of the year.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he approves of the two known remaining bidders for Citigroup's Mexican retail unit, after other potential buyers were derailed amid strict conditions put forth by Mexico's leader.

Canada's banks are expected to post their second straight quarter of declining earnings as the darkening economic outlook slows loan growth and prompts them to stockpile capital, outweighing the benefit of wider lending margins.