Weekly Global News Wrap: EU banks to float 'green' indicator next year; Citigroup revises earnings after Revlon ruling

And Goldman Sachs reboots cryptocurrency desk following Bitcoin boost.

From Reuters

Banks in the European Union would have to publish a groundbreaking “green asset ratio” (GAR) as a core measure of their climate-friendly business activities from next year, the EU’s banking watchdog has proposed.

The European Banking Authority said the ratio will measure the amount of climate-friendly loans, advances and debt securities compared to total assets on a lender’s balance sheet to reach a percent figure.

Banks are likely to face pressure from investors to show what steps they are taking to increase their GAR over time, though few lenders are expected to reach 100%.

From Reuters:

Citigroup has revealed it recorded an additional $39m in operating expenses in Q4 2020 after a US federal judge ruled it was not entitled to recoup money it mistakenly wired to lenders of Revlon in 2020.

As a result, Citigroup revised its Q4 earnings to $1.92 per share down from $2.08, according to a filing.

This month, US District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said the transfers were complete transactions not subject to revocation and declined to force the defendants to return the funds. Citigroup is planning to fight the decision.

From Reuters:

Goldman Sachs has restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk and will begin dealing bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards for clients from next week, a source said.

The team will sit within the bank’s Global Markets division, and is part of Goldman’s activities within the fast-growing digital assets sector, which also includes projects involving blockchain technology and central bank digital currencies.

As part of this work, the bank is also exploring the potential for a bitcoin exchange traded fund and has issued a request for information to explore digital asset custody, the source said.