* Brazil's Banco Inter SA said Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. had bought an 8.1% stake for 760 million Brazilian reais in the digital bank's share offer late in July, Reuters reported. Softbank's entry into the bank's capital had been previously reported, but the details were not known. According to a statement from Banco Inter, Softbank acquired the stake through LA BI Holdco LLC, an investment entity based in Miami.
* Banco do Brasil SA is preparing a follow-on share offering that could total up to 7.9 billion reais, which will be possibly priced at the end of September, Reuters reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter. Itau Unibanco Holding SA, XP Investmentos SA, Caixa Econômica Federal, Credit Suisse Group AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Banco do Brasil will reportedly manage the transaction.
* Banco Pan SA is evaluating a potential share offering as an option to ensure it meets the required minimum percentage of free-float shares. Banco Pan currently floats 16.6% of its outstanding shares in the market, compared to the 25% minimum required as the bank is listed under level 1 of stock exchange B3 SA - Brasil Bolsa Balcão's corporate governance standards.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
* Mexico-based payments provider QPAGOS said Gaston Pereira resigned as CEO. The company has not yet named his replacement.
* Guatemala's constitutional court has revoked a 2018 controversial ruling that stopped the SAT tax agency from being able to access automatically bank account information in cases of suspected evasion, Prensa Libre reported, citing Finance Minister Víctor Martínez. The ruling that forced the SAT to seek approval from the attorney general was widely criticized in Guatemala, with some saying it risked the country being classified as a tax haven.
CARIBBEAN
* S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on the Caribbean island nation of Aruba to stable from negative, while affirming the long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings at BBB+ and A-2, respectively. The outlook revision reflects S&P's belief that Aruba will continue making progress on a fiscal correction program and stabilize government debt.
BRAZIL
* Brazilian investment fund FI-FGTS said it is looking at alternatives for the sale of its stake in Banco do Brasil SA, and it has sought advisers to assess these options, according to a statement from the bank. The choices do not exclude a secondary public offering of the shares, Banco do Brasil said, citing correspondence from Caixa Econômica Federal, which manages the fund.
* The recently announced measures that will let individuals withdraw a portion of their balances from the FGTS workers' severance fund could hurt mortgage lending in the long term if Brazil's economic growth does not accelerate, Fitch Ratings said. FGTS inflows are funded by payroll contributions, and therefore depend on Brazil's economic activity. The fund's annual net inflows dropped to 4.9 billion reais in 2017 from 18.4 billion reais in 2014 given the economic slump.
* Minutes from the Brazilian central bank's most recent monetary policy meeting noted GDP would either be stable in the second quarter or only see very slight growth, Reuters reported. Freeing up funds from the FGTS workers' pension fund should help accelerate growth in the coming quarters.
* BB Seguridade Participações SA revised its 2019 estimate for adjusted net income, raising the growth forecast to between 8.0% and 13.0%, from the previous range of 5.0% to 10.0%. The insurer said the upward revision is due to "better than expected performance of the combined net investment income of all companies within the conglomerate."
ANDEAN
* Speaking at a conference call, Bancolombia SA CEO Juan Carlos Mora noted that the bank's loan portfolio has improved, implying lower provision charges. The bank booked a 58% increase in its second-quarter profit, with past-due loans in the quarter falling to 4.71% of total loans, from 4.98% in the prior quarter and 5.20% a year earlier.
* An arbitration court ruled that the Colombian government must repay 211 billion pesos to multiple banks with ties to Odebrecht construction projects ordered stopped during a bribery investigation, Reuters reported. Odebrecht sued the government for allegedly expropriating assets during the probe and sought 2.7 trillion pesos in damages.
* Peru's central bank will cut its reference interest rate in the coming months, though it is expected to keep the rate on hold at 2.75% in its monetary policy meeting tomorrow, El Comercio reported, citing research by Banco de Crédito del Perú. It forecast that two cuts at 25 basis points each would be made in the next few months.
* The total credit portfolio of Peruvian banks grew 7.02% year over year in June to 273.99 billion soles as loans to families rose 11.64% from the year-ago period, Gestión reported, citing data from the Asbanc banking industry association.
SOUTHERN CONE
* Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA plans to target roughly 400,000 merchants in Chile next year through its joint venture with U.S.-based EVO Payments Inc., bank executives said during an earnings call. BCI is seeking to deploy a new acquiring network with the U.S. company that will offer electronic payments services to small and medium-sized businesses.
* Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA lowered its loan growth estimates to between 8% and 9% from a prior range of 9% to 10%, following 7.9% loan growth at the bank in the second quarter, CFO José Luis Ibaibarriaga added. The weaker loan estimates come on the heels of slower economic growth, he said.
* Banco de Crédito e Inversiones SA wants its Mach product to become Chile's most widely used payment means as it seeks to position itself in the increasingly competitive card-acquiring market, Diario Financiero reported, citing CFO José Luis Ibaibarriaga's comments during a conference call.
* Scotiabank Chile sold 3 million UF inflation-indexed units, or about $136 million in AO series bonds that mature in nine years and one month, Diario Financiero reported. Interest from institutional investors reached 8.3 UF and a rate of 0.45%. The proceeds would be used to fund credit disbursements and develop the bank's commercial operations.
* Moody's affirmed Uruguay's foreign and local currency long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings at Baa2. The affirmation reflects Uruguay's moderate economic strength with an expected economic recovery over the next two years, among other factors.
* Middle East & Africa: Provisions dent SABB's H1 result; Nedbank cuts FY outlook; Moody's rates Niger
* North America: Apple/Goldman credit card launches; Happy State Bank to buy in-state peer
Helen Popper contributed to this article.
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.
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