US banks’ earnings season is still going strong: Bank of America reported stronger-than-expected earnings in 1Q2021, with its net income doubling during the three-month period to reach USD 8.1 bn, according to the multinational investment bank's financials (pdf). Bank of America’s performance comes as it released USD 2.7 bn in loan-loss reserves over the quarter, which was also marked by a boom in global trading — driven in part by a Reddit-fueled trading frenzy in meme stocks like GameStop — that also boosted investment banking gains.

Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, rounded out an all-time great first quarter (pdf), thanks to its institutional securities business growing 66% y-o-y. While its investment banking revenue more than doubled y-o-y to USD 2.6 bn in 1Q2021, Morgan Stanley lost a total of USD 911 mn in the collapse of Archegos Capital Management, marking the only major US bank to be nursing losses from the family office's debacle, the Financial Times reports.

A consortium led by EIG Global Energy Partners is getting a 49% stake in Aramco OIl Pipelines by issuing USD 10.5 bn in long-tenor bonds to replace “staple financing” backing the stake acquisition, Reuters reports. EIG plans to cover the full amount in two or three bond issuances, with the first slated for 1Q2022.

Is Jack Ma being pushed out of Ant Group? Fintech giant Ant Group is considering ending its relationship with founder Jack Ma following meetings with Chinese regulators, Reuters reports, citing three anonymous sources. Ma may be asked to cede control of the company and divest his stake seemingly at the behest of the Chinese central bank and the country’s financial regulator, which have discussed his exit with the company and with Ma himself, the newswire says. The claims come as the Chinese government takes an increasingly hard line against the country’s most powerful tech companies. Ant Financial’s would-be record IPO was called off at the last minute by regulators last year, while Alibaba — Ma’s ecommerce company — was handed a USD 2.8 bn fine earlier this month for supposedly anticompetitive practices.

The EGX30 rose 0.3% on Thursday on turnover of EGP 899 mn (33.9% below the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is down 6.5% YTD.

In the green: Eastern Co. (+2.9%), CIB (+1.7%) and Export Development Bank (+1.4%).

In the red: TMG Holding (-3.0%), AMOC (-2.8%) and MM Group (-2.7%).