New York-based bank Goldman Sachs is considering launching an online bank, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The name of the bank and the details of the plans are still unknown, sources told the daily.

DBS Group, Singapore's largest bank, announced 900 jobs cuts after it suffered a sharp drop in third quarter profit, a news report said Saturday.

The United States has moved to cut off all Iranian transactions routed
through US banks to further tighten sanctions over the Islamic state's
nuclear and other illicit activities, the US Treasury Department
announced Thursday.

Europe's two leading central banks are expected to announce Thursday big rate cut, as monetary authorities around the world step up efforts to head off a looming recession.

Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA agreed to acquire Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros SA, creating Brazil's biggest bank.

Two key German banks announced Monday they were tapping the government's 470-billion-bank-euro (600-billion-dollar) rescue fund in the wake of the world financial crisis.

Cash-strapped Iceland was set to allow its currency to float as soon as the country secures new loans, Prime Minister Geir Haarde said Thursday in parliament.

Haarde further said the cost of the collapse of the North Atlantic nation's banks may total the equivalent of some 9.4 billion dollars or "85 per cent of GDP" last year.

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) said on Thursday that it would cut its key policy interest rate by 25 basis points, after reviewing the decision taken by the US Federal Open Market Committee a day earlier.

"Effective immediately, the CBB's rate on the one-week deposit facility is 1.50 per cent, down from 1.75 per cent previously," a statement by the CBB said.