Bank Transactions

Bank Transactions News

• European Allies Opposed U.S. Monitoring of Bank Transactions, NYT Reports

  Germany, Austria and other European nations harbored a “deep distrust” of a U.S. program that monitors millions of international banking transactions for evidence of terrorist activity, the New York Times reported, citing State Department cables.

• Van Hollen Wants to End Hedge-Fund Tax Break (Transcript)

  Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend, that Congress should eliminate a tax break for private-equity and hedge- fund executives to pay for extending a payroll tax cut for workers.

• Bank of Italy Warned Lenders on Vatican Bank Transactions, Corriere Says

  The Bank of Italy sent two letters to Italian lenders this year asking them to closely scrutinize transactions involving the Vatican Bank, Corriere della Sera reported, citing the notes.

• Hungary Tax Plans Are Interesting, Austria’s Fekter Says

  Finance Minister Maria Fekter of Austria, whose lenders have criticized regulations in Hungary, said new plans for taxing bank transactions there are “exciting” and should be watched closely.

• Duane Morris, Troutman Sanders, Munger: Business of Law

  Duane Morris LLP hired former K&L Gates LLP intellectual-property litigator Karineh Khachatourian to head its new office in Palo Alto, California.

• OTP Bank Falls to Lowest in Three Months on Tax, Euro Crisis

  OTP Bank Nyrt., Hungary’s largest lender, fell to the lowest in three months as the government said it plans to tax financial transactions and concern increased the euro-area debt crisis will escalate.

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  Conspiracy of Banks Rigging States Came With Crash

  A telephone call between a financial adviser in Beverly Hills and a trader in New York was all it took to fleece taxpayers on a water-and-sewer financing deal in West Virginia. The secret conversation was part of a conspiracy stretching across the U.S. by Wall Street banks in the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market.

• Gemalto Sees Sales Boost From U.S. Wireless Speed Upgrades

  Gemalto NV, the French smartcard maker that sells more than a billion SIM cards for mobile devices annually, predicts a boost in sales and profit from phone carriers this year as more U.S. consumers switch to faster wireless services.

• Aussie Falls Versus Peers After Report Shows RBA Sold Currency

  Australia’s dollar declined against most of its major peers after the nation’s Reserve Bank said it increased sales of the currency last month to a category of buyers that includes foreign central banks.

• Forint Heads for First Week of Losses in a Month: Budapest Mover

  The Hungarian forint headed for its first weekly drop in more than a month on concern a planned tax on central bank transactions will cause further delays in obtaining an international bailout.