Raghuram Rajan — the former International Monetary Fund chief economist who predicted the global financial crisis more than a decade ago — warned that the banking system is headed for more turmoil after the rescues of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse, Times of India reported. Rajan, who was also governor of Reserve Bank of India, said a decade of easy money and a flood of liquidity from central banks has caused an “addiction” and a fragility within the financial system as policy makers tighten policy.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has created a fund investing in loans for leveraged buyouts, the first of its kind in Japan, anticipating growing demand for such financing as mergers and acquisitions gain steam, Nikkei Asia reported. The roughly 16 billion yen ($121 million) fund has lined up a dozen or so investors, including life insurers and regional banks. MUFG plans to have three such funds by fiscal 2024, with a total of up to 100 billion yen in assets.

Asian shares were trading mixed Wednesday following a decline on Wall Street after reports on the U.S. economy came in weaker than expected, the Associated Press reported. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1.3% in morning trading to 27,931.00. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 stood little changed, inching down less than 0.1% to 7,235.80. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2% to 2,485.21. Trading was closed in Hong Kong and Shanghai for the Qingming Festival, a holiday. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 0.6% to 4,100.60, breaking a four-day winning streak.

The recent collapse of U.S. regional banks might not grow into a global financial crisis given their small scale and less complex assets, but more peers might turn into zombie banks if not properly regulated, the central bank said on Facebook, Taipei Times reported. Silicon Valley Bank’s (SVB) bankruptcy might not lead to a systemic crisis like Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest U.S.

A business tycoon long sought by the government of China, and known for cultivating ties to Trump administration figures including Steve Bannon, was arrested Wednesday in New York on charges that he oversaw a $1 billion fraud conspiracy, the Associated Press reported. Guo Wengui, 54, was accused along with his financier and chief of staff of various crimes, including wire and securities fraud. He was charged in court papers under the name Ho Wan Kwok. U.S.

Pakistan's central bank raised its key interest rate to a record 21% on Tuesday as the cash-strapped country bid to curb crippling food inflation and maintain the confidence of foreign creditors, Reuters reported. The 100 basis-point (bp) increase by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was less than the 200 forecast by a Reuters poll of analysts as the country grapples with record annual consumer inflation of over 35%. Global factors have compounded consumer inflation already buoyed by Pakistan's weakening currency, energy tariff increases and hikes in food prices due to Ramadan.

Lenders of debt-ridden Reliance Capital have postponed the second auction to April 11 for which three suitors have expressed interest to participate, the Indian Express reported. Earlier, banks had fixed the second auction date as April 4. According to sources, the bidders who have confirmed their participation in the second round of auction are IndusInd International Holdings Ltd. of Hinduja Group, Torrent Investment and Singapore-based Oaktree.

According to court documents analyzed, Statkraft, the largest renewable energy company in Europe, is on track to become the first multinational corporation to acquire an Indian power company through the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) process after the national company law tribunal (NCLT) approved its Rs 1.80 billion offer for Lanco Mandakini Hydro Energy, Construction World reported.

European planemaker Airbus is negotiating a new round of plane orders with China, coinciding with a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the economic superpower later this week, government and industry sources said, Reuters reported. The potential deal for dozens of jets comes amid worsening relations between Washington and Beijing, which have seen China's usually balanced airplane imports tilt towards Airbus in recent years.

HSBC Holdings Plc's board is unanimous in recommending that shareholders vote against proposals to restructure the bank and pay fixed dividends, its chairman, Mark Tucker, told Hong Kong shareholders on Monday, Reuters reported. The comment came as Ken Lui, an individual HSBC shareholder and leader of a Hong Kong-based investor group, called for a break-up of the bank. His second proposed resolution calls on HSBC to restore pre-COVID-19 dividend levels.