Columbia Banking, Umpqua Bank to Merge in $5 Billion Deal

The combined entity will boast more than $50 billion in assets and creates one of the largest banks with headquarters on the West Coast. 


 
For China's Banks, Corruption Is Only Half the Problem

Beijing will no doubt snare some bad apples as this latest rectification campaign unfolds. The rot at the core of the financial sector itself still needs stronger medicine. 


 
Biden Administration Embarking on 'Aggressive' Tack for Cryptocurrency, White House Official Says

Peter Harrell, senior director for international economics and competitiveness with the National Security Council, said the administration would address the risks around cryptocurrencies while seeking to position the U.S. as a leader in digital asset innovation 


 
DOJ Sees Crypto Seizures as a Priority in Anti-Ransomware Push

The Justice Department is increasingly trying to claw back ransomware payments made by hacked companies and is training cryptocurrency experts who can track funds across sometimes sprawling overseas criminal networks. 


 
Blackstone Bets on Music Business With $1 Billion Hipgnosis Deal

The asset manager and a music company create a fund to buy song catalogs, expecting such rights to grow amid the rise in online streaming. 


 
Wall Street Firm Makes Wager on Carbon-Offset Forests

Oak Hill Advisors is hunting for $500 million worth of forestland with the aim of harvesting carbon offsets instead of timber. 


 
Fed's Clarida Affirms Fed Plans to End Bond Purchases by Mid-2022

The central bank's No. 2 official said he expects the recent "unwelcome surge" in inflation to prove "largely transitory." 


 
Some Investors Find Stability in SPACs

Shares of special-purpose acquisition companies have lost their luster for those who recently saw them as a ticket to fast riches. That is good news for a different group of investors, who treat them as an alternative to bonds. 


 
Financial Services Roundup: Market Talk

The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services 


 
KKR Co-CEOs Henry Kravis, George Roberts Step Down

Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall take over as co-CEOs of the private-equity firm, but Messrs. Kravis and Roberts will continue to serve as co-executive chairmen.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-13-21 0015ET