* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social reported 1.34 billion reais in net income for the first half of 2017, amid declining delinquency levels and a contribution from the bank's investment unit BNDES Participações S.A., an official statement said. The result compares to a net loss of 2.17 billion reais in the first half of 2016. The bank's provisions for loan losses will also not likely increase significantly, Reuters reported separately.

* Of the 10 new banks that started operations in Mexico in the past five years, only half of them made a profit, while one has gone bankrupt, El Economista reported, citing figures from the National Commission of Banking and Securities.

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

* Banco Central de Costa Rica will reduce its issuance of local debt to twice a month for the second half of 2017, El Financiero reported. The bank sees no need to raise more than 75 million colones during the period.

BRAZIL

* Brazilian regulators are on the watch for the country's growing alternative lending market, especially credit cooperatives, Fitch Ratings said. Cheaper sources of lending are on the rise as the challenging operating environment in Brazil takes a toll on banks, whose lending rates have remained high. Credit cooperatives' lending rates fall between 70% and 75% of personal loans at traditional banks.

* Banco do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul SA posted net income of 187.7 million reais for the second quarter of 2017, about 6.8% lower than the 201.5 million reais earned in the year-ago period. The income translated to earnings per share of 45 centavos, compared to 49 centavos in the year-ago period.

* Rafael Guedes, Fitch Ratings' managing director for Brazil, said the country's decision to revise its deficit target for 2017 and 2018 is not enough to prompt a downgrade, Reuters reported. "The change to the fiscal target is not good news, but once again [it] demonstrates why the Brazilian rating carries a negative outlook," noted Guedes.

* Banco Pine SA posted a higher net loss of 21 million reais for the second quarter of 2017, from a net loss of 7 million reais in the year-ago period. The provision for loan losses came to 50 million reais in the quarter, compared to 33 million reais a year ago. The lender noted that its loan loss provisions were adversely affected by the nonpayment of a specific client.

* BNDES Participações S.A. will recommend at a shareholder meeting of meatpacking company JBS SA that the firm file charges against owners Joesley and Wesley Batista for alleged illicit financial gain at the expense of the company, Valor Econômico reported.

* Caixa Econômica Federal will begin to auction 6,000 homes that were recovered in judicial processes, Valor Econômico reported. The homes are worth 250,000 reais on average and were awarded as part of a social program.

* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social President Paulo Rabello de Castro said the bank may not be able to lend more than 65 billion reais this year because of the country's limited economic growth, Valor Econômico reported.

* Banco Citibank SA recorded a profit of 481.6 million reais in the first half of this year, a 33% increase over the same period last year, Valor Econômico reported.

* Banco Central do Brasil Gov. Ilan Goldfajn said the debate over budgetary reforms in Congress is too focused on the short-term cost, while the long-term benefits have been neglected, Diário Comércio Indústria & Serviços wrote.

* S&P Global Ratings placed Brazil's ratings for securities under criteria observation because it plans to change the bases with which it assesses them. The rating agency says the plan to alter its criteria will not affect the global ratings of Brazilian securities.

* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social has already paid to the state a maximum dividend of 60% of its 2016 profit, or the equivalent of 3.81 billion reais, Diário Comércio Indústria & Serviços reported.

ANDEAN

* Peru's banking regulator ruled that Banco Falabella Perú SA is liable for losses sustained by its clients because of the use of cloned credit cards, Gestión wrote.

* Scotiabank Perú S.A.A. believes Banco Central de Reserva del Perú may probably cut overnight lending rates by 25 basis points in its Sept. 14 meeting, Gestión reported.

* Peru's economy grew 2.4% in the second quarter of 2017, La República wrote, citing Economic and Finance Minister Fernando Zavala. The official attributed the growth to greater confidence at the corporate and consumer levels.

* As Colombia is set to publish its second-quarter GDP growth on Aug. 15, some economists believe GDP may have risen from as low as 0.6% to 0.9%, to as high as 1.4%, Portafolio reported.

SOUTHERN CONE

* Argentina's credit default swaps fell 18 basis points to 313 basis points on Aug. 14, from 331 basis points on Aug. 11, after a midterm primary vote, Reuters reported, citing data from financial analysis firm IHS Markit. The figures are the lowest in seven weeks.

* Banco Itaú Paraguay SA predicted the country's economy to grow 5% this year as farming activity recovers following heavy rains, La Nación reported.

* Chile's securities regulator head, Carlos Pávez Tolosa, was appointed head of a new commission that will regulate financial markets in the South American country, El Mercurio reported.

* Chilean Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdés ruled out returning previously paid commissions to pension holders as part of a pension reform, as it would reduce the profitability for current plan holders, Diario Financiero reported.

PAN LATIN AMERICA

* A return to more typical levels of catastrophe losses would make reinsurers' earnings more volatile, S&P Global Ratings said. Reinsurance losses rose to $54 billion in 2016 from $36 billion in 2015, moving claims closer to the 10-year average. While capital adequacy in the sector remains strong, some reinsurers are more exposed and sensitive to catastrophe risk than others, the rating agency said.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

* Asia-Pacific: ANZ posts rise in cash profit; MS&AD Insurance to invest in Australian firm

* Europe: HSBC names ring-fenced bank CFO; Swiss Life to stay cautious on M&A

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

Matthew Craze contributed to this article.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 8 a.m. São Paulo time, and scans news sources published in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Some external links may require a subscription.