* Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA has accepted Bank of Nova Scotia's offer to acquire the Spanish lender's 68.19% ownership in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Chile SA, as well as its interests in certain subsidiaries, for approximately US$2.2 billion. The Said family, which holds a 31.62% stake in BBVA Chile, waived its right of first refusal to purchase BBVA's shares in the Chilean unit. However, the family maintains the right to tender all or a portion of its shares in the mandatory tender offer to be carried out by Scotiabank.
* Banco Indusval SA said it signed an investment agreement with U.S.-based The Hive BR Holdings to develop a digital banking platform for its Banco Intercap SA subsidiary, Reuters reported. The accord stipulates a capital injection by Hive into Intercap of between 2 million reais and 10 million reais.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
* Eleven Mexican microfinance companies have jointly launched their own payment processing system called MexPei, allowing borrowers to pay back their loans at locations such as corner stores, El Economista reported.
* Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior S.N.C. Institución de Banca de Desarrollo signed an agreement with Mexico's ABM banking association to adhere to the country's banking sustainability protocol, which sets out guidelines on sustainable investment practices and the management of environmental and social risks, El Economista reported.
* With 99.96% of the votes in Honduras' presidential election counted, incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez had 42.98% of the votes with rival Salvador Nasralla holding 41.39%, Reuters reported, citing the electoral tribunal's website. The head of the tribunal, David Matamoros, has not yet declared an outright winner. He said the parties could still mount legal challenges and the tribunal could still decide on a wider recount of votes.
* Banco BTG Pactual SA said about $497.9 million in aggregate principal amount of its 8.750% perpetual noncumulative junior subordinated notes were tendered in a repurchase offer that expired Dec. 1.
* Banco Bradesco SA announced the creation of a new division focused on business management of high-income clients, Valor Econômico reported. The new area will be led by Guilherme Muller Leal, an economist who has worked for 18 years at the Brazilian bank and was formerly the head of corporate banking at the company.
* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social CEO Paulo Rabello de Castro said 2018 will be a year of "uneven recovery" with certain sectors "doing very well and others limping," Reuters reported.
* Bankruptcy filings in Brazil dropped 27.3% in November from a year earlier and declined 35.3% compared to the previous month, credit research firm Serasa Experian said. According to data from credit research firm Boa Vista SCPC, bankruptcy filings in the country fell 31.6% in November compared to a year ago.
* Brazil's government is still a long way from securing enough votes to pass a key pension reform, but potential backers of the proposed overhaul have become more organized, Reuters reported, citing lower house Speaker Rodrigo Maia.
* Banco Santander SA's asset management arm in Brazil has signed an agreement to take over the management of J.P. Morgan Asset Management's local funds in Brazil, Valor Econômico reported. The deal reportedly involves around 25 billion reais in assets under management.
* Brazil's Senate is due to vote on Dec. 5 on a bill that would prevent banks from owning cash-in-transit companies, Valor Econômico reported.
* Brazilian payment processor PagSeguro Internet Ltda. is thinking about an initial public offering in New York during the first quarter of 2018, Reuters reported, citing "two people with knowledge of the matter."
* Moody's upgraded the global local currency and national scale insurance financial strength ratings of nine Argentine insurers and six reciprocal guarantors, while changing the outlooks of the global local currency ratings to stable from positive. The move follows Moody's upgrading Argentina's sovereign ratings in November.
* Argentina's ABA banking industry association has called on the government for fair regulations that allow banks to compete with financial technology firms on an even playing field, Clarín reported. Claudio Cesario, the association's president, said fintech firms enjoy tax and labor benefits while traditional banks face an excessive tax burden.
* A conflict over a restructuring plan for Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay is exposing rifts within Uruguay's AEBU banking union, with hardline factions and more moderate wings at odds over a series of sit-in protests at branches slated for reduced operating hours, El Observador reported. Talks between union leaders and government officials are set to resume on Dec. 5.
* A provision in Chile's banking reform law will ban people convicted or suspected of certain crimes from being founding shareholders in banks, Pulso reported.
* Chile's central bank maintained its 2018 GDP growth forecast for the country at between 2.5% and 3.5%, Reuters reported. The bank expects economic growth of 1.4% in 2017. The central bank also warned about rising household debt risks in its latest financial stability report, La Tercera reported.
PAN LATIN AMERICA
* There is a 70% likelihood that the Mercosur trade bloc and the European Union will reach an agreement on a new trade deal, Bloomberg News reported, citing a South American diplomat involved in the talks. While serious obstacles remain unsettled, significant progress was made in talks during the past week, the diplomat said.
* Cryptocurrency operator Athena Bitcoin has announced a $10 million investment to install 200 bitcoin ATMs in Latin American in 2018, Dinero reported.
* Global growth momentum remains strong and is likely to be sustained by an increasingly positive outlook for investment, according to Fitch Ratings. World growth is now estimated at 3.2% in 2017 and indications are that 2018 will be equally robust with growth edging up to 3.3%.
* Brazilian stock exchange operator B3 S.A. – Brasil Bolsa Balcão is using intermediaries to gradually build up a stake in Argentine bourse BYMA, El Cronista reported, citing unnamed market sources who estimated that the Brazilian company already holds a stake of about 5% in BYMA.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
* Asia-Pacific: Australia shelves superannuation changes; My Credit Union gets nod for merger
* Middle East & Africa: Mashreqbank gets new Bahrain license; Access Bank eyes West Africa expansion
* Europe: Portugal's Centeno to head Eurogroup; Basel rules deal seen this week
Helen Popper contributed to this article.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 8:00 a.m. São Paulo time, and scans news sources published in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Some external links may require a subscription.
