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Kenya's Equity targets Congo lender; Standard Bank Namibia takes Mobipay stake

* Equity Group Holdings PLC entered into a nonbinding term sheet with certain shareholders of Banque Commerciale Du Congo SA to potentially acquire a controlling stake in the Democratic Republic of Congo-based lender. The Kenyan banking group said a deal would allow it to expand in Africa, adding that it intends to merge Banqué Commerciale du Congo's business with its banking unit in the Central African state.

* U.S. bank Citigroup Inc. named Atiq Rehman head of its newly created EMEA Emerging Markets Cluster business, according to Reuters. Rehman currently serves as the bank's head for the Middle East and Africa.

* Citigroup and Credit Suisse Group AG expect to carry out more deals in Africa as Ethiopia opens up its economy to foreign investments and other governments sell more assets, Bloomberg News wrote.

GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL

* The main risk of technological disruption for retail banks in the Gulf region is changes in customer preference, according to S&P Global Ratings. The agency noted, however, that risks to Gulf countries' banking systems will remain contained at least over the next two years owing to regulatory intervention.

* Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) could see inflows of $3 billion from the remaining phases of its inclusion on the FTSE Russell emerging market index this month, Chairwoman Sarah al-Suhaimi told Reuters. The stock exchange operator also expects to launch the first exchange-traded derivative product in the fourth quarter.

* The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority said it made amendments to some clauses of the unified compulsory motor insurance policy, Argaam noted.

* Qatari lenders have relaxed repayment terms on real estate loans since the diplomatic dispute in the Gulf started, Doha Bank QPSC CEO Raghavan Seetharaman told Bloomberg TV. Since November 2015, overall real estate prices have fallen 23%, according to central bank data.

* Qatar's Commercial Bank (PSQC) is poised to price between $600 million and $700 million of bonds to finance local and international projects, CEO Joseph Abraham told The Peninsula. However, it remains unclear when the debt would be issued since the bank is still "waiting for the right time and the interest rates."

* Shuaa Capital PSC said the sale of its securities brokerage and market-making units in the United Arab Emirates will have no material impact on its financial position. The company added that the proceeds from the sale will be recognized in the third or final quarter, depending on regulatory approval and completion.

* United Arab Emirates-based asset management firm Allied Investment Partners PJSC is developing new products to be marketed later this year and is seeking to invest more than $1.37 billion in different themes in the next four years, Argaam wrote.

* Kuwait's central bank has urged local lenders and exchange bureau to immediately implement all decisions by the United Nations Security Council related to combating money laundering following the recent spat between Kuwaiti and Syrian delegates to the UN, where the latter accused Kuwait of allowing illegal money transfer by suspected people, Al Rai reported.

REST OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

* Egypt is close to tapping investment banks as advisers on its plan to issue sovereign bonds of between $3 billion and $7 billion by June, Khaled Abd Elrahman, deputy finance minister, told Bloomberg.

* Egypt's planned sovereign wealth fund is expected to kick off operations next month, Amwal Al Ghad reported, citing Finance Minister Mohamed Maait. The envisaged pension fund will manage some 1.5 trillion pounds over the course of seven years.

* Israel-based Direct Insurance - Financial Investments Ltd. has delisted its shares from the Tel Aviv bourse yesterday, allowing its parent company Zur Shamir Holdings Ltd., to comply with provisions of the country's Concentration Law, Globes reported.

* The Tunisian and Ukrainian central banks signed an agreement to cooperate more closely and share information, following similar agreements the North African country it signed last year with Morocco and Portugal, according to Financial Afrik.

* Capital Intelligence Ratings affirmed the B/B long- and short-term foreign-currency ratings of Blom Bank SAL and Credit Libanais SAL and assigned the Lebanese lenders bank stand-alone ratings of "b." The long-term currency ratings and bank stand-alone ratings carry negative outlooks. The agency also assigned BLOM BANK and Credit Libanais core financial strength ratings of "bb" and "b+," respectively.

* Moroccan telecommunications firm Inwi has launched a mobile money service, which would help the North African country meet its financial inclusion targets, CommesMEA reported.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA

* Kenya's competition watchdog has mandated KCB Group PLC to keep at least 90% of the employees it will take on from National Bank of Kenya Ltd. for a year and a half following the completion of their merger, Business Daily Africa wrote. The merged entity will likely have roughly 6,200 staff, 10% of whom would still be cut.

* Consolidated Bank of Kenya Ltd. borrowed around 1.12 billion shillings from the central bank at the end of 2018 through three tranches of repurchase agreements, Business Daily Africa noted. The bank is currently seeking a state rescue to repay its bond creditors.

* Nigeria-based AIICO Insurance Plc appointed Olusola Ajayi as an executive director overseeing the group's retail division.

* Nigeria's National Insurance Commission has given approvals in principle to Cornerstone Takaful Insurance Co. Ltd. and Salam Takaful Insurance Co. Ltd. to start operations as composite takaful service providers, The Punch noted.

* Polycarp Didam stepped down as managing director and CEO of Nigeria-based Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc. Didam will be replaced by Kenneth Egbaran, whose appointment received approval from the National Insurance Commission.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

* Businesses in the member countries of the Bank of Central African States — Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Cameroon and the Central African Republic — are crying foul over the bank's new rules to tackle money laundering and bolster foreign exchange reserves, which they said are leading to currency shortages and transaction delays, Reuters reported.

* Peter Moyo returned to work at Old Mutual Ltd. yesterday after a court junked the South African insurer's bid to block his reinstatement as CEO, but was still prevented by the company from performing his duties, news outlets including Reuters and Bloomberg covered. A spokeswoman for Old Mutual reportedly said Moyo was "neither permitted nor required" to come to work.

* Moody's said the outlook on South Africa's banking sector is stable, with firms expected to carry sound finances in the next 12 to 18 months despite weak economic growth. Net interest income would likely be under pressure due to lower loan growth, but a drop in digital investment costs in the next 12 months could ease the strain, the agency added.

* Standard Bank Namibia Ltd. bought a 50.9% stake in electronic payment solutions company Mobipay for 53.2 million Namibian dollars, The Namibian reported. The deal gives Standard Bank Namibia a controlling stake in the payments firm.

* Silvina António de Abreu was sworn in as administrator of Mozambique's central bank, with the main task of preserving the value of the national currency, O País reported.

* Angola's central bank is in the process of creating a new mechanism to facilitate access to credit for companies that need capital, Angola Press wrote.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: Home Credit HK IPO may list this month; Suncorp CEO denies sales plan

Europe: Lloyds faces £1.8B PPI charge; US probe finds faults in Deutsche's AML controls

Latin America: DBRS upgrades Argentina; Banco do Brasil, UBS said to be finalizing i-bank JV

North America: Ohio banks in deal; JPMorgan nears key IPO role; banks shun small-dollar loans

Global Insurance: Reinsurance takes center stage; BGC hiring; Markel ILS fund manager

Deza Mones, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.

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This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.