* Porto SeguroSA said unit Porto Seguro Companhia de Seguros Gerais, Porto Cia. reachedan agreement to acquire AIG SegurosBrasil SA's auto insurance portfolio. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, involvesthe transfer of approximately 25,000 auto insurance policies, including certificatesand endorsements. The purchase price was not disclosed.

* Brazilian state-run development bank Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social willincrease fundingfor solar energy while cutting down on loans for large hydroelectric plants andthermoelectric plants powered by natural gas, Bloomberg News reported, citing MarileneRamos, the bank's infrastructure director. The company will no longer support thermoelectricplants that run on coal or oil.

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

* Banco deMéxico said its 28-day interbank equilibrium interest rate denominatedin Mexican pesos will be includedin the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's list of swap contracts, Reutersreported.

* Growth in commercial banking creditto Mexico's private sector slowed to 13.0% in August from 13.9% in the previousmonth due to lower growth in nearly all market segments, El Financiero reported, citing data from Banco de México. The figurefor August came in below the 13.2% growth forecast by Banorte Ixe economists.

* Analysts from FocusEconomics and Global Insight expect theInternational Monetary Fund to cut its 2016 growth forecastfor Mexico, which currently stands at 2.5%, later in October, El Economista reported. Their expectationis based on a slowdown in the U.S. and its impact on Mexican exports, as well aslower domestic consumption and cuts in government spending.

CARIBBEAN

* RepublicFinancial Holdings Ltd. said it appointed Robert Riley, an attorney who has served in variousexecutive management and senior legal positions throughout his more than 30-yearcareer, to its board of directors, effective Oct. 1.

BRAZIL

* Banco BradescoSA said it will rebrand851 HSBC Bank Brasil SA - Banco Múltiplobranches under the Bradesco name, along with around 3,816 ATMs and 4,250 corporatepoints of service, over the weekend of Oct. 8. Bradesco will also formally integrateHSBC Brasil's 5 million clients.

* Caixa EconômicaFederal is investing more than 1 million reais in an innovation competitionin order to find financial solutionsfor low-income segments of the Brazilian population, Diário Comércio Indústria & Serviços reported.

ANDEAN

* Moody's said its A3 rating for Peru a longstanding track record of economicstability, market-friendly policies and prudent fiscal management with constraintsrelated to the country's weak political institutions. The rating agency expectsPeru's credit metrics to remain near their current levels for the next three tofive years.

* The Colombian peso fellas much as 2.8% in trading Oct. 3, ending the day down about 2%, after the countrynarrowly voted to reject a peace deal with FARC rebels a day earlier. The benchmarkstock market index, known as COLCAP, lost 1.2% to close at 1,322.12 points. PresidentJuan Manuel Santos said he would form a committeeto continue the peace process through discussions with the deal's opponents, The Wall Street Journal reported.

* U.S.-based asset manager BlackRock Inc. has identified long- and short-term investmentopportunitiesin Peru in areas such as infrastructure and tourism, Gestión reported, citing comments by Vice President Claudia Morales.The company could invest in Peru directly or through fixed-income and equity funds.

* Moody's said that the Colombian vote to reject a governmentpeace deal with FARC rebels is credit negativefor the country and will probably "undermine the government's ability to passother reforms," Reuters reported. Fitch Ratings said the vote will not havean impact on its sovereign ratings for Colombia.

SOUTHERN CONE

* Chile's budget deficitfor 2017 will expand to 3.3% of GDP from approximately 3.1% in 2016, and as a resultof the shortfall, the country will no longer be the only net creditor in the Americas,Bloomberg News reported, citing the finance ministry.

* Tax revenues forArgentina jumped 30% year over year in September to reach about 168.32 billion Argentinepesos, Reuters reported, citing the AFIP tax agency.

* Chilean retirement and savings institution Caja Los Héroesis interested in entering the prepaid cards businessand is evaluating how much return it could generate through this move, Diario Financiero reported.

* Although BancoCentral de Chile's board voted unanimously to hold its monetary policyinterest rate at 3.5% in September, the minutes of that meeting show that policymakersdid considercutting the rate, Pulso reported.

PAN LATIN AMERICA

* Brazilian President Michel Temer arrived in Argentinaon Oct. 3 to discuss the revival of bilateral traderelations with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, El Cronista reported. The visit marks the first formal meeting betweenthe two heads of state.

* Felipe Hirai, a Latin American equity strategist at Bank ofAmerica Merrill Lynch, said the bank has a positive outlook on Brazil and Peru mainlydue to expectations for higher economic growthin the coming years, Diario Financieroreported. The bank has an underweight recommendation for Mexico and Chile due toweaker growth expectations.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THEWORLD

* Asia-Pacific: Australianbanks to face probe; Canadian fund manager to buy stake in Edelweiss unit

* Middle East & Africa: Kenya's Family Bank to shed jobs; Mozambican banks 'in good health'

* Europe: ING facesunion ire; Novo Banco sees Chinese interest; Russian central bank overhauls

Paula Mejia contributedto this article.

The Daily Dose has an editorialdeadline of 8 a.m. São Paulo time, and scans news sources published in English,Portuguese and Spanish. Some external links may require a subscription.