15/07/2014

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:00:12. > :00:20.Citigroup agrees to pay a fine of $7 billion over risky mortgages.

:00:21. > :00:23.And we take you to Shanghai to find out why the group's leaders want to

:00:24. > :00:33.set up a new financial institution there.

:00:34. > :00:38.`` BRICS leaders. Thank you for joining us. I'm Rico Hizon. The 2008

:00:39. > :00:42.global economic crisis didn't just wreck entire economies, it destroyed

:00:43. > :00:45.lives as well. Citigroup has now agreed to pay out billions of US

:00:46. > :00:53.dollars to authorities to settle an investigation into the sale of

:00:54. > :00:56.risky, sub`prime mortgages. Citigroup has announced they will

:00:57. > :01:00.pay out $7 billion. More than half will be going to the Department of

:01:01. > :01:03.Justice, while $2.5 billion will be paid in consumer relief, for some of

:01:04. > :01:06.the Americans who lost their homes. Our New York business reporter

:01:07. > :01:19.explains what this means to the US bank. The bank has been forced to

:01:20. > :01:25.acknowledge that there were misdeeds. It actually mis`sold some

:01:26. > :01:28.sort of mortgage related instruments during the financial crisis. As a

:01:29. > :01:31.result of that, it has been forced to reach an agreement with US

:01:32. > :01:34.authorities and pay a huge fine. This isn't the first time we have

:01:35. > :01:38.seen a big bank being penalised for this sort of business. In fact, it

:01:39. > :01:43.is almost becoming routine on Wall Street these days. We heard from the

:01:44. > :01:51.US attorney general, who described the egregious behaviour. He has said

:01:52. > :01:55.in the past that no bank is too big to jail, and he warned there are

:01:56. > :02:09.others who would also face potential fines in the future. This action is

:02:10. > :02:11.the latest step in our ongoing activities to see who defrauded the

:02:12. > :02:14.American people and damaged markets. Citigroup is not the first financial

:02:15. > :02:17.institution to be held accountable by this justice department, and it

:02:18. > :02:21.certainly will not be the last. JP Morgan is one big American firms

:02:22. > :02:24.that's been forced to pay huge fines before. The Bank of America is

:02:25. > :02:34.another bank that is currently being investigated. Citigroup has a large

:02:35. > :02:41.presence. Will this huge fine of about $7 billion have any impact on

:02:42. > :02:43.its global operations? We are certainly talking about a global

:02:44. > :02:49.bank with operations in Asia, Europe, all around the world. I

:02:50. > :02:56.suspect the staff have been waiting to hear what the outcome will be.

:02:57. > :03:00.What is interesting is that the chief executive of the firm has come

:03:01. > :03:02.out with a statement, saying they believe the settlement is in the

:03:03. > :03:05.best interests of shareholders, allowing them to move forward and

:03:06. > :03:08.focus on the future not the past. Clearly the shareholders feel the

:03:09. > :03:18.same, because the share price actually rose.

:03:19. > :03:30.For more on that and all business news, go to the BBC News website.

:03:31. > :03:34.There are two global organisations tasked with stabilising finances and

:03:35. > :03:41.funding major projects in the developing world, the World Bank and

:03:42. > :03:44.the IMF. But the countries most affected by their policies have

:03:45. > :03:49.often felt shut out of the decision`making process. That's

:03:50. > :04:00.because it's the large Western economies and Japan that holds the

:04:01. > :04:04.pursestrings. A BRICS meeting will try to set up an alternative, as our

:04:05. > :04:08.Shanghai reporter tells us. Rumour has it Shanghai has been

:04:09. > :04:12.chosen to host the headquarters of the new BRICS development bank,

:04:13. > :04:16.widely seen as the developing world's on set the perceived

:04:17. > :04:25.unfairness of the existing global financial institutions. With the

:04:26. > :04:33.BRICS economy sailing in choppy waters, with a concern about a

:04:34. > :04:43.slowdown, the bank's job will be to find big infrastructure projects and

:04:44. > :04:46.keep the economy is going. To be fair, you can't find many on the

:04:47. > :04:49.streets of Shanghai who have heard of it BRICS summit, but its key

:04:50. > :04:52.focus, concern about growth, strikes a chord with anyone you talk to.

:04:53. > :04:57.It's getting worse, this delivery man tells me. There is so much more

:04:58. > :05:01.competition in business nowadays. TRANSLATION: The economy is pretty

:05:02. > :05:06.bad compared to last year. People just aren't spending is not. `` as

:05:07. > :05:10.much. This BRICS summit is also expected to pledge another large sum

:05:11. > :05:16.of money, up to 100 billion US dollars to a kind of alternative to

:05:17. > :05:18.the IMF. An emergency pot of money to protect emerging countries from

:05:19. > :05:29.the volatility of international capital. It is, on the one hand, a

:05:30. > :05:33.sign of the growing cloud and confidence of the BRICS members, but

:05:34. > :05:37.on the other the need for such a fund underlines their vulnerability.

:05:38. > :05:40.The World Trade Organisation has ruled against the US, saying it

:05:41. > :05:44.broke regulations by imposing duties on Chinese steel products, solar

:05:45. > :05:47.panels and other goods. It found that Washington went too far in its

:05:48. > :06:05.response to alleged government subsidies to Chinese countries. In a

:06:06. > :06:08.similar case, another panel ruled in support of claims by India in

:06:09. > :06:11.support of tarrifs from steel exports of three of its major

:06:12. > :06:19.carriers. Air Asia says its first half`year earnings have fallen, and

:06:20. > :06:24.they put that down to the depreciating Chinese economy.

:06:25. > :06:28.Air China has warned of a $180 million for the first half yearly

:06:29. > :06:31.loss. They say that stupid the weaker currency.

:06:32. > :06:34.Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE has cited improving

:06:35. > :06:36.margins in its global business and revenues from new contracts to build

:06:37. > :06:51.the next generation of telecommunications. They expect ``

:06:52. > :06:55.expect first half net profit of more than $160 million.

:06:56. > :06:57.Standard Chartered has begun proceedings against the head of the

:06:58. > :07:03.commodities trading form, suspected of loans fraud. The bank is the

:07:04. > :07:05.fourth company to start legal action to recoup losses since Chinese

:07:06. > :07:07.authorities launched an investigation into whether a private

:07:08. > :07:10.metals training company and its related companies used fake

:07:11. > :07:22.warehouse receipts as collateral to secure loans. `` trading company.

:07:23. > :07:25.A British man and his American wife will be facing the courts in China

:07:26. > :07:26.next month in connection with bribery allegations involving the

:07:27. > :07:40.pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. It's part of a

:07:41. > :07:43.broader Chinese anticorruption push. But it's China's attempt to end the

:07:44. > :07:49.process, and do the multinationals have anything to see if they follow

:07:50. > :07:52.the rules? The process looks very politicised,

:07:53. > :07:55.because that is what it the headlines, but you have to see that

:07:56. > :07:58.behind the political process is an economic reform agenda that drives

:07:59. > :08:03.the process, and that will in the end decide how this process will

:08:04. > :08:09.unfold. There will be continuing headlines, as the leadership

:08:10. > :08:14.struggles out who retains power. In the long run, there will be

:08:15. > :08:16.continuing reforms. What the Chinese call anticorruption is a

:08:17. > :08:25.regularisation of government processes. How would you rate, so

:08:26. > :08:33.far, the anticorruption campaign of the new government? I think what one

:08:34. > :08:38.has to see is that the anticorruption campaign is China's

:08:39. > :08:45.way of phrasing things. Actually, it is part of the government programme.

:08:46. > :08:47.The person who was put in charge of the anticorruption campaign was one

:08:48. > :08:50.of the economic leaders under the previous leadership, who was brought

:08:51. > :08:53.in to push the anticorruption campaign as part of a largely de

:08:54. > :08:59.regularisation and marketisation of the ranking system and the state

:09:00. > :09:14.enterprise system. `` banking system. That is where the fights are

:09:15. > :09:16.happening, because you have basic interest sitting there in the

:09:17. > :09:19.leadership, which still controls state`owned enterprises, who are

:09:20. > :09:22.being pushed out in favour of a more regular and government controlled

:09:23. > :09:25.process. It's a very entangled web of corruption that has to be

:09:26. > :09:28.untangled at the moment. How do you think this will impact multinational

:09:29. > :09:31.companies in China? Do they have anything to fear if they follow

:09:32. > :09:34.rules? No, in the end, it will go in the interests of multinational

:09:35. > :09:45.companies, because they are the ones who want regular process. What will

:09:46. > :09:49.happen in the short term certainly is that companies who have a network

:09:50. > :09:52.of contacts in China might see that upset by people leaving and new

:09:53. > :09:55.people coming in, but overall, the process is very much in line with

:09:56. > :10:02.what will be national companies have. `` have been asking for.

:10:03. > :10:07.Before we go, a quick look at the markets. Asia is rising in

:10:08. > :10:09.mid`morning trade after US equities rose overnight, lifted by strong

:10:10. > :10:14.results from Citigroup and more results from Citigroup and more

:10:15. > :10:17.deals in the healthcare to the Dow Jones industrial average hit a

:10:18. > :10:20.record high but investors are waiting for the congressional

:10:21. > :10:25.testimony by Janet Yellen on US market policy. Thank you for

:10:26. > :10:32.investing your time with us. Sport Today is up next.

:10:33. > :10:37.This is BBC News. The headlines: The United States has welcomed an

:10:38. > :10:41.Egyptian call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel and the militant

:10:42. > :10:45.Palestinian group Hamas say they are considering the proposals.

:10:46. > :10:48.The Libyan government has said it may ask for international help to

:10:49. > :10:51.end fighting between rival militia groups after a new attack at Tripoli

:10:52. > :10:55.airport. The Church of England has voted to

:10:56. > :10:56.allow women to become bishops for the first