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Banco Inter to IPO; Colombia cuts key rate; Banco del Bajío profit rises

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Banco Inter to IPO; Colombia cuts key rate; Banco del Bajío profit rises

* Banco Inter SA will file for an IPO in the coming weeks and has hired the investment banking units of Banco Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup to lead the planned offering, Valor Econômico reported, citing "two sources familiar with the matter."

* Colombia's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.50%, with four out of seven board members supporting the cut and the remaining three voting to keep it at 4.75%. The bank said the decision, which was based partly on annual inflation not falling as much as expected, signals the completion of the rate reduction cycle.

* Banco del Bajío SA posted net income of about 1.12 billion Mexican pesos for the fourth quarter of 2017, up 75.0% from 637 million pesos in the year-ago period. The bank's full-year 2017 profit jumped 74.3% annually to 3.90 billion pesos.

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

* Banco Panameño de la Vivienda SA said it plans to offer up to $2.9 million in negotiable commercial bonds on Feb. 1. The series CH notes will carry a 3.375% interest rate and a term of six months.

* Lloyd's Syndicate - 1492 opened a regional office in Mexico City. The new hub will initially provide facultative reinsurance for the casualty and property segments. Probitas Corporate Capital owns 94% of the capacity rights of Syndicate 1492.

* Mexico's central bank has launched an analysis tool that allows users to compare different credit cards offered by banks and other financial entities, El Economista reported. The measure is part of the central bank's efforts to foster increased transparency and competition in the market.

BRAZIL

* The total credit balance in Brazil's financial system stood at 3.09 trillion reais in December 2017, up 0.7% from the linked month but down 0.6% year over year, according to a central bank report.

* Moody's said a capital compliance plan recently approved by Caixa Econômica Federal could allow the state-run bank to expand its credit portfolio by about 100 billion reais by 2019, Reuters reported. The new plan may also help the bank reach a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 10% by the end of 2018, the rating agency said.

* Brazil's government will take a number of actions, including tapping the country's sovereign fund for 26 billion reais, in order to avoid violating budget rules in 2018, Reuters reported, citing government officials. The government registered a primary budget deficit of 124.40 billion reais in 2017 before interest rate payments, down 23% year over year, the newswire reported separately.

* Itaú Unibanco Holding SA expects that its regional operations in Latin America, outside of Brazil, will contribute more than 10% of the bank's overall profit once the integration of CorpBanca's operations in Chile and Colombia is completed, Valor Econômico reported, citing Ricardo Villela Marino, a vice president at Itaú. The regional operations currently contribute less than 7% of overall profits.

ANDEAN

* BNP Paribas Cardif SA Compañía de Seguros y Reaseguros' board has accepted the resignation of Alessandro Deodato as CEO and director, effective Jan. 31. Laurent Laouenan will replace Deodato as interim CEO from Feb. 1 to April 30. Meanwhile, Marcos Alejandro Peñailillo will take over the director position, effective Feb. 1.

* Online payment processor Mercado Pago has entered into a partnership with Peru's BBVA Banco Continental SA to promote interest-free payment plans for holders of cards issued by the bank, SEMANAeconómica reported, citing Fiorella Lezama, Mercado Pago's general manager.

* The Venezuelan government published new regulations Jan. 29, abolishing its greatly subsidized DIPRO exchange rate used for food and medicine imports, Reuters reported. It said the new DICOM exchange system "will apply for all foreign currency operations, for the public and private sectors."

* The vast majority of Peru's 659 savings and credit cooperatives operate and capture deposits without supervision or affiliation to any state institution, Gestión reported, citing Oscar Basso, deputy superintendent at Peru's SBS banking regulator.

* Colombia's government suspended peace discussions with ELN rebels following the death of seven police officers in a string of bombings over the weekend, Reuters reported.

SOUTHERN CONE

* PSA Finance Argentina Compañía Financiera SA said it raised about 500 million Argentine pesos in a combined, oversubscribed offering of its 12-month series 25 and 24-month series 26 bonds. The series 25 bonds carry a 25.00% fixed net interest rate, while the series 26 securities carry a variable rate of 2.75%.

* Argentine President Mauricio Macri announced further austerity measures Jan. 29, saying there will be no wage hikes in 2018 for executive branch government employees and that 25% of the "political positions" appointed by ministers will be eliminated, Reuters reported. The job cuts are expected to save $77 million per year.

* Argentine banks, which invested their profits heavily in real estate during a ban on dividend payments between 2011 and 2015, now have to list their holdings at market value due to reforms aimed at bringing the local financial system in line with international financial reporting standards, La Nación reported. The financial system's net value has reportedly increased 11% because most banks had listed the real estate holdings at below-market prices.

* Chile's central bank is switching to a new system of eight annual monetary policy meetings, compared to 12 previously, Pulso reported. The first meeting under the new system will take place later this week, but analysts say the absence of a fifth director from the bank's board could make it harder to reach a consensus.

* Chile's government placed $2 billion worth of sovereign bonds on Jan. 29, with demand totaling twice the amount offered, Diario Financiero reported. The notes carry an interest rate of 3.247% and mature in 2028.

PAN LATIN AMERICA

* The green bond market is projected to grow further in 2018, although at a slower pace, extending to new kinds of issuers, geographies and financing types, S&P Global Ratings said. "We expect political support for green bond issuance to further ramp up in 2018, through new sovereign and sub-sovereign issuance as well as via increasing regulatory support for private issuance," S&P credit analyst Noemie De La Gorce said.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

* Asia-Pacific: Indonesian bank, Sumitomo Mitsui unit to merge; Arab Bank selling Australian arm

* Middle East & Africa: First Abu Dhabi Bank FY'17 profit falls YOY; Angola holds benchmark rate

S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.

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.