* Bank of China Ltd. received approval from Chilean banking regulator SBIF to start operating in Chile, Reuters reported, noting that Bank of China is the second Chinese lender to obtain approval in Chile following China Construction Bank's authorization in May 2016.
* Banco Bradesco SA CEO Octavio Lazari said the bank is analyzing the possible closure of up to an additional 200 branches in 2018 after closing roughly 565 branches in 2017, Reuters reported. Bradesco's online bank called Next, which was launched in October 2017, already has 80,000 clients, the executive said.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
* Banco Panameño de la Vivienda SA on March 15 will offer two series of commercial securities worth a total of $7.5 million. One series is worth $2.5 million with a six-month term and a 3.375% interest rate, while the other is worth $5.0 million, yielding at a 3.75% interest rate and maturing in one year.
* Amazon.com Inc. introduced its first-ever debit card in Mexico on March 13 as part of the company's efforts to promote online purchases among shoppers without bank accounts, Reuters reported.
* Mexican commercial banks could face a difficult 2018 due to presidential elections in July and ongoing talks to revamp the NAFTA trade pact, S&P Global Ratings said. However, it added that Mexican banks are well positioned to weather potential volatility as they have sound reserve coverage for nonperforming assets and a large capital cushion.
* Mexico's Banco Azteca SA Institución de Banca Múltiple said it appointed Carlos Díaz Alonso general director of corporate banking. He previously served as general director of sales at TV Azteca.
* Brazil's Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said now is a good time for him to run for president as he gains support from the country's ruling party, Reuters reported. "I am doing a whole series of assessments to see if it is the right moment for me to be a candidate, and much of the data indicates that it is," Meirelles reportedly said in a radio interview.
* The volume of debit and credit card transactions in Brazil increased 12.6% in 2017 and is expected to rise a further 15.5% in 2018, Diário Comércio Indústria & Serviços reported, citing the local Abecs association of credit card companies.
* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social lost an estimated 5.08 billion reais as a result of investments it made in scandal-plagued meatpacking company JBS, Folha de S.Paulo reported, citing calculations by the TCU federal audit court. BNDES, however, disputes the estimate and maintains that its investment in JBS generated a positive result of 2.8 billion reais.
* Fitch Ratings took various actions on several Brazilian financial institutions following its recent downgrade of Brazil's sovereign rating. The rating agency downgraded its viability ratings on Banco Bradesco SA and Banco ABC Brasil SA, while lowering the long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings on Banco Daycoval SA and Banco Industrial do Brasil SA, among other actions.
ANDEAN
* Fitch Ratings withdrew the A-(ven) national scale of financial strength of Caracas-based Americana de Reaseguros CA, stating that it lacks information on the Venezuelan company to perform an analysis and issue a ratings action.
* Fitch Ratings believes Colombia's macroeconomic and fiscal policy framework will remain intact thanks to the success of center and center-right parties in the country's recent congressional elections, as this will likely contribute to a continuation of Colombia's effective economic policy. The country's strong fiscal and macro-policy institutions will also likely prevent major economic policy changes, the rating agency noted.
* Around 47% of all banking transactions in Colombia were done online in 2017, up from 37% three years ago, El Tiempo reported, citing regulatory data.
* S&P Global Ratings affirmed its BBB- long-term foreign currency and BBB long-term local currency sovereign credit ratings on Colombia, noting that the country's economic growth is likely to experience a modest recovery in 2018 along with a decrease in the current account deficit.
SOUTHERN CONE
* Argentina's central bank maintained its monetary policy rate at 27.25% as the regulator raised its expectation for general inflation in 2018 to 19.9% from 19.4%. Core inflation expectation also rose to 17.1% from 16.9%. Still, the central bank noted it considers the month-over-month rise in prices in February to be temporary, and believes inflationary pressure will ease once adjustments for tariffs and exchange rates take hold.
* The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development maintained its 2018 and 2019 GDP growth forecasts for Argentina at 3.2%, Clarín reported.
* HSBC Bank Argentina SA is in advanced discussions to lend around $1 billion to Argentina's government, which is also in talks to seek financing from two other banks to help meet its financing needs for 2018, La Nación reported, citing anonymous sources from the financial sector.
* Venezuela's central bank has paid a $2.1 million debt owed to Chile's central bank following a default in mid-2017, La Tercera reported.
* Asia-Pacific: ICBC NY branch faces regulatory action; Chinese wealth fund exits Blackstone
* Middle East & Africa: Bahrain exits EU tax haven blacklist; Angola issuing bonds to tackle bad debts
* Europe: Pru to demerge UK, European ops; EU banks face new bad loan provision rules
This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.
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.
