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BNP Paribas in final talks to buy RBI unit; Munich Re launches €1B buyback

* As expected, the European Commission proposed to tackle Europe'slarge bad debt pile, saying banks would need to set aside more funds to coverthe risk of new loans turning sour. Lenders would be subject to a minimumcoverage level for newly originated loans that become nonperforming and willface deductions from their own funds, if they are not able to meet this level.

* Meanwhile, the ECB said its guidelines on tackling newsoured bank loans will come into effect April 1, Reuters reported.The central bank noted that the rules were nonbinding and would serve as thebasis for dialogues with lenders on how they provision against bad debt on acase-by-case basis.

* ECB President Mario Draghi said adjustments to the centralbank's monetary policy will bepredictable and made at a measured pace, noting that inflation wasstill below the bank's target, and that risks were posed by U.S. trade measuresand a strong euro.

* The European Parliament has endorsedthe candidacy of former Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos for theposition of vice president of the ECB.

* EU negotiators have accepted British demands that the U.K.be able to negotiate and freely sign trade deals during the Brexit transitionperiod, The Times of London reported.

UK AND IRELAND

* Old MutualPlc reportedfull-year 2017 profit attributable to equity holders of the parent of £909million, up from a restated year-ago profit of £570 million.

* BarclaysPlc shareholders toldReuters that they are giving CEO Jes Staley one more year to turn around thelender's investment bank or face demands for a review of the business.

* South Africa-based FirstRand Ltd. unit FirstRand International Ltd.completed the acquisition of U.K.-based Aldermore Group Plc.

* PermanentTSB Group Holdings Plc has formally requested ECB approval to allowit to reclassify €900 million of restructured mortgages as performing loans, amove that would allow the Irish lender to pull the loans from a €3.7 billionloan portfolio sale, The Irish Times reported.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* RaiffeisenBank International AG will propose a dividend for 2017 of 62 eurocents per share, its firstpayout in four years. The Austria-based bank is also preparing acarve-out of the foreign-currency retail mortgage portfolio held by Polish unitRaiffeisen Bank PolskaSA.

* Meanwhile, BNP Paribas SA is in the final stages of talks toacquire Raiffeisen Polbank from RBI, an insider toldReuters.

* Munich ReCo. said it intendsto repurchase up to 11 million shares for a maximum price of €1 billion in theperiod between April 25 and April 30, 2019 at the latest. The reinsurer is alsoaimingfor a 2018 consolidated result of between €2.1 billion and €2.5 billion.

* German lawmakers re-elected Angela Merkel to a fourth term as chancellor,ending months of political uncertainty that followed national elections inSeptember 2017.

* The chairman of the Association of Foreign Banks inGermany, Stefan Winter, said he expects about 20 banks to expand their presence in the countryfollowing the U.K.'s decision to leave the EU.

* TikehauCapital Partners will participatein the IPO of Deutsche BankAG's DWS asset management division, placing an order worth €250million. Meanwhile, a book runner leading the IPO toldReuters that the listing has attracted demand for all DWS shares on offer.

* German banking regulator BaFin determined severalregulatory deficiencies in the internal revision of and urged the bank to increase itsequity capital resources, Handelsblatt reported.

* An investor filed a lawsuit with the Manhattan U.S.District Court against CreditSuisse Group AG claiming that the Swiss lender mislead customersabout a complex product betting on the stock market that led to losses forpeople who bought in at inflated prices, Reuters wrote.

* UBS GroupAG is combining its equity and debt capital market businesses inthe Asia Pacific, Reuters reported,citing an internal memo.

* NotensteinLa Roche Privatbank AG appointed DanielBürchler its new CFO and COO, effective in June.

FRANCE AND BENELUX

* SociétéGénérale SA Deputy CEO Didier Valet in light of a"divergence of approaches" in the French lender's management of acertain legal issue, which the FinancialTimes said is connected to allegations of rigging the London InterbankOffered Rate.

* The planned IPO of part of could be delayed asmembers of the Belgian political party CD&V and three other smaller partiesare insisting that members of the Arco cooperative must first be compensatedfor their losses from the collapse of Dexia SA, accordingto L'Echo.

* Belgian Economy Minister Kris Peeters is pushing a lawthrough parliament that will oblige Belgian banks to accept diamond dealers andpolishers as clients, after complaints that banks were refusing to do sobecause of fears over money laundering regulations, L'Echo reported.

* is working on startinga mortgage bank funded by third-party money from institutional investors as itseeks to comply with stricter European capital requirements dubbed in theindustry as Basel IV, Het FinancieeleDagblad reported.The mortgage bank would be called Vista Hypotheken.

ITALY AND GREECE

* Generali reported full-year 2017 consolidated result attributableto the group of €2.11 billion, compared to €2.08 billion in 2016.

* CréditAgricole SA unit Crédit Agricole Cariparma SpA is expected to carry out asecuritization deal involving about €1 billion in bad loans and take advantageof state-backed guarantees for the senior tranche of the deal, MF said.The company has also begun the process of selling a €450 millionunlikely-to-pay loan portfolio.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* The Danish government set a requirementfor banks of 0.5%, effective March 31, 2019, following a recommendation by theSystemic Risk Council in December 2017.

* Iceland's central bank decided to the interest rate on seven-dayterm deposits at 4.25%.

* Nordic Capital Fund IX willacquire Sweden-based online payments provider for an undisclosedamount.

EASTERN EUROPE

* Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar hours after the country'sSupreme Court nullified the result of a September referendum that approved a €1billion railway project, Reuters reported.

* In a move to calm the political crisis sparked by themurder of a journalist, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said on conditionthat his party be allowed to pick his successor, Reuters reported.

* The Serbian central bank decided to its key policy rate by 25 basispoints to 3.25%, citing low inflationary pressures. Georgia's central bank,meanwhile, decided to keep the refinancing rate at 7.25%.

* PZUSA reportedfull-year 2017 group profit attributable to equity holders of the parentcompany of 2.91 billion Polish zlotys, compared to a restated profit of 1.94billion zlotys in 2016.

* Bank PekaoSA denied media reports saying it could announce its merger with in March, PAP said.

* The Romanian central bank refused to approve the takeoverof Banca RomâneascaSA by OTP BankNyrt., Business Review reported,citing banking industry sources.

* The Czech cabinet approved the full transfer of ownershipin state lender Ceská exportníbanka a.s. and ExportGuarantee & Insurance Corp. to the finance ministry from otherministries, E15 reported.The planned transfer will require legislative changes and approval by the Czechcentral bank.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: HK probes 'reckless' IPO sponsors; ICICI Bank sets price range forunit's float

Latin America: Bank of China gets approval in Chile; Bradesco mulls closing 200branches

North America: JPMorgan invests in London-based fintech startup; CIC divestsBlackstone stake

North America Insurance: 

NOW FEATURED ONS&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Prudential PlcCEO says timing was right as market welcomes business split: MikeWells said U.K. and Europe-focused unit M&G Prudential is big enough tocompete on its own and that the benefits the group brings to it are"diminishing."

£12BPrudential deal could push UK bulk annuity market to £40B in 2018: Thevalue of U.K. bulk annuity deals completed in 2018 could now reach £40 billion,but Rothesay Life's purchase of a large chunk of Prudential's back book willtake up much of its time and could reduce capacity for transactions withpension schemes.

Leo Magno, Arno Maierbrugger, Danielle Rossingh, EsbenSvendsen, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Brian McCulloch, Sophie Davies andMariana Aldano contributed to this report.

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