Weekly Global News Wrap: India poised for digital rupee launch; UBS reports best annual profits since GFC

And Goldman Sachs’ US staff returns to office for the first time in 2022.

From CNBC:
India’s central bank will launch a digital version of the rupee in the next financial year, the country’s finance minister said on 1 February.

“Introduction of a central bank digital currency will give a boost, a big boost to the digital economy,” Nirmala Sitharaman said as she delivered the country’s annual budget. “Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system.”

The Reserve Bank of India will introduce the digital rupee in the 2022-2023 financial year which begins on 1 April.

From Reuters:
UBS reported its best annual profit since the global financial crisis, emboldening it to hike share buybacks and set more ambitious profit goals as it posits that more digital products will result in hefty cost-savings.

In its first major strategic review since Chief Executive Ralph Hamers took the helm in November 2020, UBS said it wants to use technology to help it increase revenues and reach more customers in the years ahead, while also continuing to bring costs down.

From Reuters:
Goldman Sachs' U.S.-based staff returned to the office for the first time this year on 1 February.

Wall Street firms were among the first to encourage staff to return to offices, but the winter wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant led many to push back their plans until February.