Weekly Global News Wrap Up: US bank earnings rebound in Q3; BofA cut nearly 100,000 workers in digital shift

And Venezuela is seeking banking services in Asia and Europe.

From Bloomberg: The downtrend appears to be behind banks and hedge funds after a brutal 2017 in commodities trading. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley, the fifth and sixth largest U.S. banks by asset size, reported stronger revenues in the third quarter compared with a year ago from the sector. That’s the third consecutive quarter where revenues from commodities, which are reported as part of the fixed income pool, was higher.

JPMorgan Chase & Co last week also reported its third straight quarter of year-over-year increases in the sector, with the bank underscoring that its higher second and third quarter results were in contrast to the “challenging prior year.”

From CNBC: Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said that the adoption of technology at the second-biggest U.S. lender has allowed him to cut 100,000 workers in less than a decade.

“We had 204,000 last quarter. Step back and think about that,” Moynihan said. The reduction is “more employees than Delta has I think. All caused by the ability to apply technology to processes and capabilities, and customer behavior changed.”

Bank of America’s headcount peaked at about 305,000 after he took over, Moynihan said although the bank began charting its digital blueprint in 2008 as part of a cost-cutting strategy. 

From Reuters: Venezuela is seeking to open bank accounts in Asia and Europe to carry out hard currency transactions, Economy Vice President Tareck El Aissami said on Tuesday, as the OPEC nation seeks to overcome U.S. sanctions that have hurt its foreign commerce.

“The President has instructed the finance minister to begin a new correspondence scheme in Europe and Asia for public banks,” El Aissami said.