* As another possible solution to Europe's nonperforming loans problem, the ECB proposed the creation of a single private sector platform that will provide data and transaction services for soured debt and encourage new investors to enter the market. Reuters and Bloomberg News covered.
* Meanwhile, the EU Council said the ECB cannot implement proposed Europe-wide rules requiring banks to set aside money to cover bad debt, since it lacks the jurisdiction, Reuters reported, citing a legal opinion from the council. The central bank, however, is sticking to the core of the plan but will improve the wording and introduce some concessions in response to criticism from Rome and Brussels, insiders told Bloomberg.
* The European Commission approved rules to offer better electronic payment services to consumers, while ensuring their safety. The rules implement the EU's second payment services directive, known as PSD2, which aims to modernize the European payment service, among other things.
* Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem may stay on in the role for another six months, Het Financieele Dagblad reported. The former Dutch finance minister was supposed to step down in the middle of January 2018, but may now stay on longer because of political uncertainty in Germany following the collapse of coalition talks, Die Presse said.
* The European Financial Stability Fund approved Ireland's plan to pay off early the remaining €4.5 billion rescue cash it received from the International Monetary Fund during its 2011-2013 banking bailout and another €1 billion of bilateral loans from Sweden and Denmark, the Financial Times reported.
UK AND IRELAND
* The Bank of England's 2017 stress test revealed that none of the U.K.'s seven largest lenders needs to strengthen its capital base. All of the participating banks would be able to continue lending in an adverse scenario more severe than the 2007/2008 global financial crisis. At the same time, the central bank's Financial Policy Committee announced plans to increase the countercyclical buffer rate, which applies to all banks, to 1% from 0.5%.
* Businessman Simon Robertson held a meeting with activist hedge fund The Children's Investment Fund Management, or TCI, on behalf of London Stock Exchange Group Plc Chairman Donald Brydon to discuss a potential compromise deal on the boardroom crisis at the company, sources told Sky News.
* Vantiv Inc.'s planned merger with British payments firm Worldpay Group plc has received U.S., U.K. and Dutch regulatory approvals. Both Vantiv and Worldpay expect the merger to be completed in mid-January 2018.
* Fitch Ratings maintained its negative outlook for the London market insurance industry, as it believes that an improvement in pricing in 2018 may not be enough to relieve pressures on the insurer's underwriting results from high expenses and lower reserve releases.
* Axa unit AXA UK Plc named Scott Wheway chairman of the board to succeed Ian Brimecome, who will retire after five years in the role, according to Reuters.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* German banks will be faced with additional costs in triple-digit million euros as a result of the implementation of new accounting rules known as IFRS 9 from Jan. 1, 2018, according to a report by Reuters, carried by Handelsblatt and citing an estimate of the Association of German Banks, BdB.
* Deutsche Bank AG said it is likely that the U.K. will not secure a transition deal in time to stop companies from triggering contingency plans for Britain's exit from the EU, Business Insider reported. In a "Brexit update" to clients, the German lender said the lack of clarity over a transitional deal would likely lead to implementation of worst case scenario plans, which, particularly in the case of financial services firms, could include large scale staff shifts.
* Deutsche Bank's asset management division named Mark McDonald global head of its private equity secondaries, Reuters reported. McDonald joins from Credit Suisse Group AG's asset management unit, where he most recently served as global head of secondary advisory.
* UBS Group AG is reportedly looking into acquiring parts of Commerzbank AG, Handelsblatt wrote, citing a report by NZZ am Sonntag. UBS has formed a team to review parts of the German lender that might be worth bidding for — including its private client business, Finews.com noted — and is not interested in a complete takeover of the bank.
* Credit Suisse Group AG lost a London lawsuit filed against it by a wealthy Kuwaiti family that lost $29 million investing with the Swiss lender during the financial crisis in 2008, Bloomberg News reported.
FRANCE AND BENELUX
* Société Générale SA said it expects to book an exceptional charge of about €400 million in the fourth quarter due to a reorganization plan of its French retail banking network, which includes laying off 900 jobs, shutting down 300 branches and reducing the number of back-office centers by 2020. As part of SocGen's 2020 strategic and financial plan, the bank is also targeting €3.6 billion of additional revenue, while seeking a return on tangible equity of 11.5% and a fully loaded common equity Tier 1 ratio of equal to or greater than 12%.
* SocGen CEO Frédéric Oudéa told Les Echos he did not see the bank making any significant acquisitions in the short term, adding that the bank needed to free €1 billion by 2020, either by selling assets or closing down activities.
* Euronext NV has settled a legal dispute with The Order Machine, or TOM, an Amsterdam-based equity derivatives trading venue that stopped trading in March, Het Financieele Dagblad reported. Euronext had sued TOM for €13.9 million for breach of its database and misleading advertising claims.
* Natixis bought a majority stake in Bordeaux portfolio manager Galia Gestion from Caisse d'Epargne Aquitaine Poitou-Charentes through its Alliance Entreprendre unit, La Tribune reported.
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
* Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA received a binding offer from Bank of Nova Scotia to acquire the Spanish banking group's 68.19% stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Chile SA and other related businesses for about $2.2 billion. The Spanish lender said it wishes to accept the offer, which excludes the automobile financing activity of Grupo Forum.
* The European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to fine 42751425 Spain €105,000 a day for failing to transpose the EU mortgage credit directive into its national law books, Europapress reported.
* Portugal's Caixa Geral de Depósitos SA has hired KPMG to help it sell €1.8 billion in nonperforming mortgage, business and property loans as it seeks to ease the burden of troubled debt on its balance sheet and return to profit, news website Eco reported. The bank aims to conclude the sale by 2018-end. The loans account for 38% of the bank's total defaulted loan portfolio.
* U.S. private equity fund Lone Star will inject a further €250 million into Portugal's Novo Banco SA in December as part of its purchase of a 75% stake in the state-rescued lender, Jornal Económico reported. Lone Star, which has already injected €750 million into Novo Banco, has three years to complete a total capital injection of $1 billion under the terms of the sale.
* Andbank España, a subsidiary of Andorran private banking entity Andbank, has named Carlos Martínez de Campos president, replacing Daniel García-Pita, Expansión reported. Martínez de Campos will assume the role next month.
ITALY AND GREECE
* Banca Carige SpA's board will examine today three offers it received for unit Creditis, with U.S. specialized hedge fund Christofferson Robb & Co. being the likely winner, most dailies including MF reported. Il Messaggero added that the lender is expected to make a €50 million capital gain on the sale.
* Indosuez Wealth Management, a unit of Credit Agricole, aims to reach "in a short time" €10 billion in assets under management in Italy, thanks to the acquisition of Banca Leonardo as well as the expected synergies that the acquisition will create, Indosuez Wealth Management CEO Paul de Leusse told MF.
* Italian businessman Salvatore Ligresti was sentenced to five years in prison and was fined €100 million for market rigging, most dailies including Il Messaggero reported.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Finland-based Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co. is planning cost-cutting measures after its merger with Keskinäinen Eläkevakuutusyhtiö Etera, and as many as 180 full-time positions could be affected, Hufvudstadsbladet reported. Ilmarinen is aiming for annual savings of €20 million after the merger.
* Nordea Bank AB (publ) is closing down five IT departments in Sweden and Denmark and will move some 179 affected jobs to Poland, Dagens Industri reported. The bank is working on efficiency measures, which include transforming many small IT departments into larger ones.
EASTERN EUROPE
* The Russian central bank revoked the banking license and professional securities market participant license of Moscow-based New Symbol Bank, saying the lender violated Russia's regulations aimed at preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism, and was involved in dubious financial operations in 2016 and 2017.
* ING Groep NV intends to shut its private banking division in Bucharest from Jan. 1, 2018, Romania Insider reported after Ziarul Financiar.
* Dmitry Levin was named acting chairman of the management board at Public Stock Co. Orient Express Bank. The appointment could be related to future changes in the bank's shareholding structure, with Baring Vostok funds gradually lowering their controlling holding in the bank, and the lender's co-owner Artem Avetisyan increasing his stake, Kommersant said.
* The Polish Financial Supervision Authority does not intend to hamper the further consolidation of Poland's commercial banking sector, Reuters reported, citing the regulator's head, Marek Chrzanowski. The official also noted that the FSA will allow more lenders to share their 2017 profits with shareholders, compared with 2016.
* The Polish FSA asked Bank Ochrony Srodowiska SA to keep an additional capital buffer of 0.92 percentage point for its foreign-currency mortgage exposure, up from the previously required 0.74 percentage point, with at least 75% of the buffer to be maintained in Tier 1 capital, news agency PAP reported.
* MBank SA signed a conditional agreement to sell an organized part of its unit mFinanse to Phoebe IVS for up to 520 million Polish zlotys, of which around 465 million zlotys will be booked over 15 years, news agency PAP reported. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.
* The supervisory board of PAO KB Privatbank appointed Anna Samarina management board deputy chair and financial director. The executive was appointed for the period of three years and will assume her duties Jan. 1, 2018, after receiving the approval of the Ukrainian central bank.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific: China to halt approval of Hong Kong-focused funds; Challenger eyes AMP Life
Middle East & Africa: Bank of Ghana cuts key rate; Sompo sets up Israel fintech hub
Latin America: Honduran opposition bet leads in polls; Mexico finance minister set to quit
North America: Leadership clash at CFPB heads to court
North America Insurance: Surge in cheap ACA plans; state blocked from seizing Pa. insurer's reserves
NOW FEATURED ON S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE
SocGen's legal woes, trading activites to dominate investor day: At the French bank's strategy day on Nov. 28, investors will be looking for answers over its ongoing legal problems and its loss of market share in investment banking, according to analysts.
Data Dispatch EMEA: Italian toxic loan market lifted by economy, investor interest: The market in Italian bad debt is booming, thanks to a confluence of investor demand, favorable regulations, state guarantees and an improving economy.
CEO's sudden departure hits Julius Bär share price; more uncertainty expected: The surprise resignation of CEO Boris Collardi put pressure on Julius Bär's shares and further uncertainty is expected to hurt the stock in the near future, according to analysts.
Sheryl Obejera, Ed Meza, Danielle Rossingh, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Brian McCulloch, Sophie Davies and Helen Popper contributed to this report.
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