Surprise rise in China forex reserves

BEIJING • China's foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly rose as haven assets such as the yen appreciated amid Brexit.

The world's largest currency hoard increased by US$13 billion (S$17.5 billion) to US$3.21 trillion in June, the People's Bank of China said yesterday.

The yen, which China holds as part of its reserves, advanced by 7.3 per cent against the dollar in June.

While the holdings have remained steady this year, they are still down 20 per cent from a US$4 trillion peak in June 2014.

BLOOMBERG

Citi's consumer banking merger

HONG KONG • Citigroup is merging its consumer banking unit in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with Asia, the largest region for profit for the business outside North America, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters yesterday.

The move, which will see consumer banking revenues from Bahrain, Poland, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom getting consolidated with Asia, will not have any headcount impact in EMEA or in Asia, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

With this change, Asia, which contributed a fifth of Citigroup's global consumer banking profit last year, will manage the group's business in 17 countries. The bank has consumer banking business in 19 countries globally.

REUTERS