* Banco Santander SA unit Banco Popular Español SA has agreed to sell U.S.-based TotalBank to Chile's Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA for approximately $528 million. The sale is subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.
* Banco Central de la República Argentina said it had extended the suspension of Banco Finansur SA's operations for 30 more days because the bank's capitalization process "has not been satisfactory."
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
* Costa Rica's central bank raised its reference monetary policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.75% on Nov. 30, as increased inflation led it to make the sixth rate hike since the start of the year, El Financiero reported. Annual inflation was 2.33% in October, its highest rate so far this year.
* Growth in Mexican bank credit has slowed down throughout 2017 but corporate loans have helped boost dynamism, central bank data shows, El Economista reported. A central bank report released Nov. 30 showed credit to the private sector rose 5.8% in October to 3.9 trillion pesos. Within that, credit to businesses rose by 8.9% to 2.1 trillion Mexican pesos.
* Fitch Ratings warned that some Mexican financial institutions could face heightened liquidity and political risk levels amid the continued concentration of government lending in the country. Grupo Financiero BBVA Bancomer SA de CV and Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV already account for nearly a third of total government lending, while Grupo Financiero Interacciones SAB de CV, another major banking player, accounts for about 9.7% of such loans.
* Fitch Ratings warned that public discontent over perceived impunity in the Guatemalan government and a lack of political reform will likely spur more protests, which may grow into social unrest and/or political instability. While these will pose risks to governability and economic growth, Fitch believes that economic impact is limited as the country has shown resilience to previous political shocks.
* Caixa Econômica Federal registered a third-quarter net profit of 2.17 billion reais, up 117% year over year, Reuters reported, citing central bank data released ahead of the bank's third-quarter report. The bank's provisions for defaulted loans went down to 3.2 billion reais from 5.1 billion reais last year.
* Itaú Unibanco Holding SA said its board has approved the declaration of interest on capital for a net amount of 12.28 centavos per share. The interest on capital will be paid to stockholders by April 30, 2018, as mandatory dividend for 2017.
* Some 4.9 million Brazilian small and micro-sized enterprises have defaulted loans, a 12.5% increase year over year, according to data from credit research firm Serasa Experian. Of the total, 45.6% came from the service sector, followed by 45.2% from the commerce sector and 8.8% from manufacturing companies, with Serasa noting "the recovery of the economy in 2017 has been uneven in terms of sectors."
* Brazil's National Monetary Council approved two new capital parameters for major banks to align regulations with Basel III rules, which will come into force fully in the country in 2019, Reuters reported. One of them adjusts the long-term liquidity indicator, a step the council said will mitigate banks' long-term liquidity risk. The capital parameters take effect in October 2018.
* Brazil's National Monetary Council also reduced the limit on resources financial institutions can dedicate to rural credit to 60% from 65% and increased the amount of rural savings deposits that can be allocated freely to 19% from 14%, Reuters reported. For Banco do Brasil SA, which accounts for almost all rural credit operations, the changes will mean it has about 7 billion reais to allocate more freely.
* BB Seguridade Participações SA has signed a partnership deal with Principal Financial Group Inc. to create a new company called Ciclic Corretora de Seguros focused on the online distribution of private pension products, Reuters reported, citing a stock market filing. The new company will receive a capital increase of up to 27 million reais.
* Banco Rodobens SA is to launch what it billed as a new kind of real estate financing in which the buyer deposits 30% of the property's purchase value, Valor Econômico reported, citing the chairman of Rodobens Negócios Imobiliários, Waldemar Verdi Junior.
* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social President and CEO Paulo Rabello de Castro said the development bank would fail its target credit disbursement of 77 billion reais in 2017, Valor Econômico reported. The bank disbursed 55.18 billion reais between January and October, 20% less than during the same period last year. In a separate report, Castro said disbursements on the BNDES Giro, aimed at working capital for small and medium-sized companies, had exceeded 1 billion reais per month.
* HSBC Bank Argentina SA will issue up to 5.5 billion Argentine pesos in three-year debt to increase lending across its credit lines, Clarín reported, citing a company statement. The bank plans to reopen an issue first made in August 2017, which carries a variable annual interest rate linked to the central bank's monetary policy rate.
* Argentina's state-run Banco de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires sold 4.5 billion Argentine pesos in notes, the proceeds of which will be used to increase financing to businesses and households, El Cronista reported. The bank said the issuance was its largest ever and that demand was close to 7.0 billion pesos.
* Paraguay's Banco Nacional de Fomento has launched a new app called APPytepe allowing customers to carry out payments and check their accounts, La Nación reported, citing the bank's president, Carlos Pereira.
* BBVA Banco Francés SA CFO Ignacio Sanz y Arcelus will serve as the new country manager for BBVA Paraguay SA, effective in the coming days. A replacement for Sanz was not immediately named.
* Argentine consumer association ADUC filed a new class-action lawsuit against Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SA for allegedly unfairly increasing credit and debit card fees for purchases abroad. The bank said it was analyzing the case and its potential implications.
* S&P Global Ratings placed Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Chile SA's long and short-term issuer credit ratings of BBB+ and A-2 on CreditWatch developing, following the announcement that parent company Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA received a binding offer from Bank of Nova Scotia for the acquisition of BBVA Chile. S&P also revised BBVA Chile's status as "nonstrategic" from "moderately strategic," given it is likely to be sold in the near term.
* Uruguay's fiscal deficit fell slightly in October to 3.5% of GDP, down from 3.6% a month earlier, but remained outside the government's target for 3.3% for year-end, El Observador reported.
PAN LATIN AMERICA
* Fitch Ratings reported corporate credit indicators in Latin America have raised credit profiles across the region in the third quarter. However, upcoming general elections in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Colombia in 2018 may lead to destabilization of economic mandates, which pose downside risks for the outlook.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
* Middle East & Africa: OPEC, Russia oil cuts extended; Orange to open bank in Africa
* Europe: Eurogroup race on; RBS closes bad bank; Munich Re eyes €2B of annual profit
S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.
Helen Popper contributed to this article.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 8 a.m. São Paulo time, and scans news sources published in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Some external links may require a subscription.
