Citigroup Inc. will halve the minimum balance on checking accounts with the highest level of service, in a push to get more customers to use the bank for their primary accounts. Clients with Citigold accounts can avoid monthly fees if they keep $50,000 in combined balances at Citigroup starting Nov. 1,

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The European Union has reached agreement on reforms to financial supervision, officials have said. EU states and the European Commission agreed to create agencies that from next year are to oversee banks, insurers, and financial

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Iceland’s central bank has cut its key interest rate to 7% from 8%. A rate cut had been predicted after inflation eased and the country’s currency strengthened, although the reduction was larger than expected. Iceland’s interest rate hit a peak of 18% in October 2008 when the

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Standard Chartered has reported a 10% rise in first-half profit, helped by a reduction in its impairment provisions for bad loans. The bank announced a pre-tax profit of $3.12bn (£1.96bn) for the first six months of the year, up from the $2.84bn it made in the same period last year.

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Lloyds Banking Group has reported a return to profit for the first half of the year, largely due to a drop in the amount set aside to cover bad loans. Pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of June came in at £1.6bn, compared with loss of £4bn in the same period a [...]

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There has been a further rise in the amount of credit card lending being written off by UK banks and other financial institutions. Figures from the Bank of England show that write-offs rose to £1.25bn in the first three months of 2010.

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Annual house price inflation is back in double-digits, according to government figures. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said prices in April were 10.1% higher than a year ago. That was the highest rate of inflation since October 2007,

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Dubai World, the state-owned investment vehicle, says it has reached an agreement “in principle” with most of its bank lenders to restructure debt worth $23.5bn (£16.4bn). It added it would be left with debts of $14.4bn after the restructuring.

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Lloyds raises mortgage rate for new borrowers New mortgage borrowers with Lloyds TSB and Cheltenham & Gloucester must pay a much higher standard variable rate when their initial deal expires. Current borrowers revert to a standard variable rate (SVR) of just 2% above bank rate, so currently paying 2.5%.

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The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.2% in the first three months of the year, official figures have shown. The continued recovery in the world’s biggest economy was founded on strong personal consumption, the Commerce Department said.

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