Jordan’s Capital Bank Agrees to Buy Assets From Lebanon’s Bank Audi

The logo of Bank Audi is seen at the main entrance of the Bank's head office in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2017. (Reuters)
The logo of Bank Audi is seen at the main entrance of the Bank's head office in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2017. (Reuters)
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Jordan’s Capital Bank Agrees to Buy Assets From Lebanon’s Bank Audi

The logo of Bank Audi is seen at the main entrance of the Bank's head office in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2017. (Reuters)
The logo of Bank Audi is seen at the main entrance of the Bank's head office in Beirut, Lebanon January 24, 2017. (Reuters)

Jordan’s Capital Bank Group finalized a deal on Tuesday to acquire top Lebanese lender Bank Audi’s businesses in Iraq and Jordan in move to diversify and expand its operations, the bank’s chairman said.

Both parties agreed not to disclose the value of the deal, which has secured the necessary approvals from Jordan’s Central Bank and the Central Bank of Iraq, Capital Bank Group Chairman Bassem Al-Salem told Reuters.

“This agreement responds to Capital Bank’s plans to enhance its competitive position and expand its regional and local expansion in Jordan and Iraq,” Al-Salem said.

It will increase Amman-based Capital Bank Group’s assets by about a third to around 3.7 billion Jordanian dinars ($5.23 billion).

Shareholders equity will exceed 400 million dinars.

Bank Audi expanded in Jordan and Iraq as part of an aggressive regional push before a major financial crisis hit Lebanon and paralysed its banks, forcing some of them to try to divest assets.



Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
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Gold Firms; Focus on US Data for Cues on Fed's Policy Path

FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A woman looks at a gold bangle inside a jewellery showroom at a market in Mumbai January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade//File Photo

Gold prices hovered near a four-week peak on Thursday, while focus shifted to jobs report due on Friday for clarity on the Federal Reserve's 2025 interest rate path.
Spot gold edged 0.1% higher to $2,664.30 per ounce, as of 0732 GMT. US gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,681.80
"Prices are trading in a narrow range ... A new trigger is needed for gold to breach its resistance," said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
The bullion hit a near four-week high in the previous session after a weaker-than-expected US private employment report hinted that the Fed may be less cautious about easing rates this year.
The market now awaits US jobs report on Friday for more cues on the Fed's policy path.
Investors are also awaiting Donald Trump to take office on Jan. 20 and his proposed tariffs and protectionist policies are expected to fuel inflation.
Policymakers at the Fed's last meeting also "noted that recent higher-than-expected readings on inflation, and the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, suggested that the process could take longer than previously anticipated," the minutes showed on Wednesday.
Bullion is considered an inflationary hedge, but high rates reduce the non-yielding asset's allure.
"We believe the bulk of the rally has been put in and that while gold's upward momentum may carry it higher in the near term and in early 2025, a combination of physical and financial market factors may tame the rally and drive gold moderately lower by the end of next year," HSBC said in a note.
Elsewhere, physically-backed gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) registered their first inflow in four years, the World Gold Council said.
Spot silver added 0.2% to $30.17 per ounce, platinum dropped 0.3% to $952.54 and palladium shed 0.8% to $921.37.