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UK zeroes in on bitcoin; Spanish firms scale back in US; Bulgaria ratings raised

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UK zeroes in on bitcoin; Spanish firms scale back in US; Bulgaria ratings raised

* The Bank for International Settlements urged major central banks to ensure that moves to tighten monetary policy will be effective enough to cool "frothy" financial markets, Reuters reported. Claudio Borio, head of the BIS's monetary and economic department, warned that vulnerabilities that have built around the globe during the "unusually long period of unusually low interest rates" remain.

* The European Commission is this Wednesday expected to propose plans to convert the European Stability Mechanism into a so-called European Monetary Fund and grant it with broad, new powers as part of a wider package of eurozone reforms, the Financial Times reported.

* Eurozone finance ministers will vote today for a successor to replace the Netherlands' Jeroen Dijsselbloem as head of the Eurogroup, Agence France-Presse reported. Portugal's Mario Centeno, Latvia's Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Luxembourg's Pierre Gramegna and Slovakia's Peter Kazimir are all vying to become the new Eurogroup president.

UK AND IRELAND

* The U.K. Treasury is planning to regulate bitcoin amid increasing concerns that it is being used for money laundering and tax evasion, The Telegraph reported. The plans would force traders in cryptocurrencies to reveal their identities and flag suspicious activities in the market.

* Top British banks have joined their Swiss and Japanese counterparts in warning that the European Commission's plan to require foreign banks operating in the EU to set-up so-called intermediate parent undertakings could ultimately force firms to exit their European businesses, the FT reported. In a letter to EU officials, the banks said they would need four years to comply with the potential new requirement.

* British ship insurer Britannia unveiled plans to establish a unit in Luxembourg to ensure it can continue to trade in Europe after the U.K. leaves the EU, Reuters wrote. The company expects its Luxembourg-domiciled subsidiary to be operational by 2018-end.

* Aon Plc completed the acquisition of U.K.-based Henderson Insurance Broking Group.

* Technology-focused merchant bank MXC Capital Ltd. said its co-founder, Ian Smith, has joined the board as CEO. Marc Young has stepped down from the board to oversee the launch of a new MXC investment strategy focusing on privately owned growth technology businesses.

* U.K. Financial Conduct Authority head Andrew Bailey told Bloomberg TV that the regulator will not intervene in the appointment of London Stock Exchange Group Plc's new CEO as long as the process is "orderly."

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* German financial markets regulator BaFin is examining how Deutsche Börse AG communicated the appointment of Theodor Weimer, currently CEO of UniCredit Bank AG, as its incoming CEO, Reuters wrote, confirming a report by Wirtschaftswoche.

* Munich Re CFO Jörg Schneider echoed calls to postpone the implementation of new accounting rules known as IFRS 17, saying the change will be "very expensive" and that insurers would need more time to prepare for it due to its complexity, the FT reported. IFRS 17 is due to come into force in 2021.

* Bankhaus Lampe KG is selling its Lampe Equity Management unit, which focuses primarily on the renewable energy sector, to Canada-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Börsen-Zeitung reported.

* Swiss banks have begun flagging suspicious transactions by some Saudi Arabian clients to the Swiss Money Laundering Reporting Office over the past week, a month after the Middle Eastern nation launched its sweeping anti-corruption crackdown, insiders told the FT. Several dozen account reports are expected to be made in total, but those submitted so far have not led to action such as freezing of accounts and searches.

FRANCE AND BENELUX

* Banque de France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau said bitcoin "is in no way a currency, or even a cryptocurrency," and warned that people who invest in it should do so at their own risk, according to Reuters.

* French asset manager Financiere de l'Echiquier agreed to merge with real estate specialist Primonial Investment Managers to create an investment group with approximately €10 billion of AUM, the FT reported. Under the deal, Primonial will acquire a 40% stake in Financière de l'Echiquier, which will take over the management of the real estate fund group's assets.

* Societe Generale de Banque au Liban SAL signed an agreement with KBL European Private Bankers SA to purchase KBL Richelieu's activities in France and Monaco, according to L'Agefi. The transaction is due to complete during the first half of 2018.

* French regulator AMF imposed a €800,000 fine on Kepler Cheuvreux SA for failings related to its compliance procedures in credit analysis, L'Agefi reported.

* Yolt, a financial technology startup owned by ING Groep NV, plans to expand into another European country next year after recently launching in the U.K., according to Het Financieele Dagblad.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

* Banco Santander SA will sell U.S. unit TotalBank to Chilean lender Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA for a consideration of about $528 million. The deal is expected to complete in the second half of 2018.

* Meanwhile, Mapfre SA unveiled plans to exit five states in the U.S. where it generates underwriting losses and has limited scale, as part of its plan to reorganize its business in the country.

* Vestin Bank, which is of Uruguayan origin but is based in Puerto Rico, is planning to launch in Europe, principally in Spain, from the first quarter of 2018 onward, insiders told Expansión.

ITALY AND GREECE

* Greece and its international creditors reached a preliminary agreement over the next steps the country must take to receive about €5 billion in funds in January 2018 and work toward exiting its bailout. The agreement includes roughly 100 reforms in a range of areas including the energy sector, financial system and social programs.

* National Bank of Greece SA sold Serbian units Vojvodjanska Banka AD and NBG Leasing as well as a portfolio of Serbian-risk corporate loans to a subsidiary of OTP Bank Nyrt. for €125 million, Reuters reported.

* DBRS Ratings confirmed Cyprus' long-term issuer ratings at BB (low) and changed the trend to positive from stable, reflecting an expectation that the country will maintain its solid fiscal and economic performance, leading to a further decline in its government debt-to-GDP ratio.

* Intesa Sanpaolo SpA CEO Carlo Messina joined the growing number of bitcoin critics, describing the volatility of the cryptocurrency as a "speculative bubble," and urged global financial regulators to scrutinize it, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Chairman Gian Maria Gros-Pietro said Italy's banking sector could undergo further consolidation, but Intesa will not be involved in the process, Reuters reported.

* Iccrea Banca SpA, Cassa Centrale Banca Credito Cooperativo del Nord Est SpA and Sixiang Holding are in the running to buy a strategic stake in Banca Mediocredito del Friuli Venezia Giulia SpA, Affari & Finanza said. The Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia owns 62.4% in the bank but could be open to reducing its stake to a minority interest, the publication said.

* Unione di Banche Italiane SpA Supervisory Board Chairman Andrea Moltrasio said the bank would draft a new governance structure by the end of the year with a single board of directors, reported Reuters.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Tryg A/S agreed to acquire property and casualty insurer Alka Forsikrings AS for a total consideration of 8.2 billion Danish kroner. The deal is expected to be finalized before the end of the first half of 2018.

* Jakob Fastrup stepped down as chairman of Danske Andelskassers Bank A/S with immediate effect, Børsen reported. Board member Anders Howalt-Hestbech, who is also CEO of Kobstaedernes Forsikring Gensidig, is taking over as chair.

* Jyske Bank A/S is launching a new business strategy and will be focusing on a single brand in the future, FinansWatch reported. As part of the strategy, the mortgage brand BRFkredit A/S will no longer be used in the private market.

EASTERN EUROPE

* S&P Global Ratings raised Bulgaria's long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings to BBB-/A-3 from BB+/B, with a stable outlook, citing the country's improving external metrics. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings also raised Bulgaria's long-term issuer default ratings to BBB from BBB- with a stable outlook.

* The Bulgarian central bank decided to introduce additional risk buffers of between 0.125% and 0.5% of total risk exposure for 11 systemically important banks from January 2018, Reuters reported.

* Bulgarian insurer ZAD Bulstrad Vienna Insurance Group intends to delist from the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, SEENews reported.

* Otkritie Financial Corp. Bank and B&N Bank wrote off their subordinated liabilities totaling 265.8 billion Russian rubles, Vedomosti reported. Prior to the write-off, Otkritie repaid subordinated loans worth 6.9 billion rubles to state-owned Vnesheconombank.

* Polish debt collector GetBack SA won a tender to purchase a debt portfolio amounting to 1.2 billion Polish zlotys, Parkiet reported. The portfolio was put up for sale by an unnamed bank operating in Poland.

* CSOB Leasing as and Home Credit are among first nonbanking loan providers that received licenses from the Czech central bank, news agency CTK said. All nonbanking firms wishing to offer loans or act as intermediaries on the loan market had to apply for a license by the beginning of March 2017, and the Czech regulator will decide on granting relevant licenses by June 2018 at the latest.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: Banco Santander closes Australian ops; Nippon Life to buy stake in TCW

Middle East & Africa: Bahrain downgraded; Angola ups rate; Barclays further cuts Barclays Africa stake

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Leo Magno, Ed Meza, Danielle Rossingh, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik,Heather O'Brian, Stephanie Salti, Sophie Davies and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.

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