Credit Suisse profit jumps 45%

Credit Suisse Group AG’s (CSGN.EB) second-quarter net profit rose 45%, beating expectations.

Net profit for the quarter was 937 million Swiss francs ($945.6 million) compared with CHF647 million a year earlier, the Swiss bank said Wednesday.

Revenue rose to CHF5.58 billion from CHF5.60 billion.

Analysts had expected the bank to post a net profit of CHF806 million on revenue of CHF5.32 billion, according to a consensus forecast provided by the bank.

Credit Suisse said it has "experienced healthy levels of client engagement" so far in the third quarter. "Whether this translates into activity remains dependent on prevailing market conditions," it said.

"These results, delivered in a challenging environment, indicate that our bank has emerged from three years of restructuring with a strong franchise and an efficient platform, allowing us to support our clients and generate growing returns for our shareholders," Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said.

Turkish monetary policy to be in line with inflation outlook – cenbank governor

ANKARA, July 31 (Reuters) – The Turkish central bank’s monetary policy will be in line with its inflation outlook, governor Murat Uysal said on Wednesday, adding that the bank will maintain a prudent policy stance taking into account geopolitical risks.

Speaking at a news conference to announce the bank’s quarterly inflation report, Uysal also said the dismissal of his predecessor Murat Cetinkaya before his 4-year term had expired was in line with existing bank rules. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Jonathan Spicer Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun Editing by Dominic Evans)

Leaving behind lira volatility boosts economic optimism – Turkish cenbank governor

ANKARA, July 31 (Reuters) – The Turkish Central Bank’s outlook for the economy is more optimistic for 2020 as the country leaves behind the impacts of lira volatility, governor Murat Uysal said on Wednesday.

Uysal also said he expects policies to support the lira, reduce inflation and therefore weaken the dollarisation trend in the banking sector.

At a news conference to announce the quarterly inflation report, he added that the central bank is determined to increase its reserves and that it may use different tools to do so.

International Personal Finance HY Pre-tax Profit Edges Down

International Personal Finance Plc. (IPF.L) reported that its profit before taxation for the six months ended 30 June 2019 declined to 56.1 million pounds from 56.5 million pounds last year.

Profit after taxation attributable to owners of the company decreased to 33.1 million pounds or 14.0 pence per share from 37.3 million pounds or 15.9 pence per share in the prior year.

Revenue less impairment grew to 323.1 million pounds from 316.4 million pounds last year.

The company declared an interim dividend of 4.6 pence per share. The dividend will be paid on 4 October 2019 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 6 September 2019. The shares will be marked ex-dividend on 5 September 2019.

Glencore cuts copper production guidance

Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN) on Wednesday reported a 2% fall in second-quarter copper production and cut its full-year production guidance for the metal by 1%, citing problems at its copper business in Africa.

The Anglo-Swiss commodity trading and mining company said it produced 342,300 metric tons of copper in the three months ended June 30, compared with 350,800 tons in the year-earlier period.

Cobalt and zinc production during the second quarter rose 7% each to 10,400 tons and 273,600 tons respectively, Glencore said.

The mining company also reported that total coal production during the second quarter rose 12% to 35 million tons.

Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg said the copper business in Africa didn’t meet expected performance in the first half of the year. He said the company has moved to address challenges at its Katanga mine in the Congo and has brought forward maintenance of the smelter at the Mopani mine–located in Zambia–to the end of 2019.

The company said that as a result of the maintenance, production guidance at the Mopani mine for the full year has been cut by 10,000 tons.

Glencore said that updated copper and cobalt production guidance for the full year will be provided at its half-year financial results in August.

Lloyds Banking forecasts lower returns for year

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LLOY.LN) said Wednesday that first-half pretax profit fell 7.1% as it booked an additional charge over payment-protection insurance in the second quarter, and forecast lower returns for the full year.

Pretax profit for the first six months of the year was 2.90 billion pounds ($3.52 billion) compared with GBP3.12 billion in the year-earlier period, the FTSE 100 bank said. This compares with analysts’ expectations of a pretax profit of GBP3.45 billion, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Lloyds.

Net profit fell to GBP2.19 billion from GBP2.28 billion, the lender said. Underlying profit for the first half was down 0.9% at GBP4.19 billion, Lloyds said.

Lloyds’ first-half underlying net income declined to GBP8.82 billion from GBP8.97 billion, matching expectations of GBP8.82 billion, according to a consensus provided by the bank.

Net interest margin worsened by one basis point to 2.90%, compared with analysts’ expectations of a net interest margin of 2.91%.

At June 30, Lloyds’ pro-forma Common Equity Tier 1 ratio–a key measure of balance-sheet strength–stood at 14.0% after dividend accrual, up from 13.9% as of March 31.

The bank said it now expects a full-year return on tangible equity of around 12%, having previously forecast returns of between 14% and 15%. Lloyds said it anticipates annual capital build to be at the lower end of its guidance range of 170 to 200 basis points.

The lender raised its interim dividend by 5% to 1.12 pence a share.