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Scotiabank offers $2.2B for BBVA Chile stake; Grupo Aval Q3 profit slides

* Bank of Nova Scotia made a nonbinding offer to acquire Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA's 68.19% stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Chile SA and certain related businesses such as the life insurance unit for approximately US$2.2 billion. BBVA is willing to accept the offer provided that the Said family, which holds a 31.62% stake in BBVA Chile, does not exercise its right of first refusal.

* Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA posted third-quarter net income attributable to owners of the parent of 437.9 billion Colombian pesos, down 28.7% from 613.9 billion pesos in the year-ago period. Results for the quarter include a net impairment loss of about 1.027 trillion pesos, up from 631.9 billion pesos a year earlier.

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

* Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the resignation of Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, while tapping the chief executive of state-run oil corporation Pemex, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, to replace Meade, Reuters reported. Meade will seek the 2018 presidential nomination from the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.

* Mexico's new finance minister, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, said he would push for a positive result from NAFTA talks with Canada and the U.S., Reuters reported. Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo also said that participants in the next round of talks, scheduled from Dec. 11-15, should see more progress in such topics as e-commerce and technical barriers against trade and regulatory practices.

* Mexico recorded a trade deficit of $2.07 billion for the month of October, The Wall Street Journal reported. Imports were up 16.3% year over year to $38.97 billion for October, while exports were up 13.2% annually to $36.90 billion.

* Banco Crédito Agrícola de Cartago said it had sold 57.7% of its loan portfolio denominated in Costa Rican colones and 48.1% of its U.S. dollar portfolio as of Nov. 24. The troubled lender is complying with a restructuring plan to unwind its financial intermediation business and transform into a development bank.

BRAZIL

* BTG Pactual Group has denied allegations of irregularities regarding the sale of União de Lojas Leader after a client sued the bank for its failed investment in the retail chain, Valor Econômico reported.

* Consumer credit demand in Brazil fell 3.3% in October compared to the same month in 2016, according to credit research firm Boa Vista SCPC. The firm expects demand to accelerate in the remainder of 2017 as Brazil's economy continues to recover.

* Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said current growth estimates and a spending ceiling should result in the country posting a surplus before debt payments in three years, Reuters reported.

* Investors in Brazilian assets are concerned the stock market will continue to face volatility until a pension reform proposal is voted upon, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, House Speaker Rodrigo Maia said he will push for the pension reform proposal only with the support of a super majority, or 308 votes.

* Itaú Unibanco Holding SA and BID Invest, part of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, have announced a $100 million grant to finance small Brazilian companies where women hold at least 51% of the capital and annual sales of up to 8 million reais, Diário Comércio Indústria & Serviços reported.

* Banco Santander (Brasil) SA has created a "family office" within its private banking service to act as independent asset manager that will look at clients' entire investment portfolios and offer advice on inheritance issues, Valor Econômico reported.

* Brazil's attorney general's office said Nov. 27 that the Febrapo savings federation and the Idec consumer protection group had reached an agreement with the Febraban banking industry federation to end legal disputes stemming from the economic stabilization plans of the 1980s and 1990s, Reuters reported.

ANDEAN

* Peru's inflation index could be negative in November for a third consecutive month, the first time such a persistent fall in consumer prices has been recorded in the Andean country, according to a forecast by Scotiabank Perú SAA, El Comercio reported. Meanwhile, the bank forecast domestic demand would increase more than 3% in the fourth quarter of 2017, driven by public spending.

* Colombia's insurance market has grown 0.8% over the last decade in terms of premiums as a share of GDP, the fourth highest growth rate in Latin America, according to the Mapfre Foundation, El Tiempo reported. Insurance penetration in the country stands at 2.8%, compared with a regional average of 3%, the report added. Separately, the country's Fasecolda insurance industry said only 34% of vehicles on the country's roads are insured, La Republica reported.

* The total debt of Colombian households reached 427 trillion pesos through September 2017, with consumer loans and mortgages accounting for 198 trillion pesos, La Republica reported, citing central bank data. An official at the regulator also said the country's total credit portfolio grew 1.3%, boosted especially by the microcredit sector but limited by a drop in commercial lending.

SOUTHERN CONE

* Banco Supervielle SA said its shareholders unanimously voted to approve a capital increase of up to about 105.5 million Argentine pesos through the issuance of up to 105,452,749 new ordinary class B shares.

* Argentine consumer defense association ADUC has filed a class-action lawsuit against Banco Columbia SA over allegations of an unjust increase in credit and debit card fees for purchases abroad.

* Jorge Brito, the chairman of Banco Macro SA who went on leave, denied before a court that he had financed the purchase of printing firm Ciccone Calcográfica, a case in which former vice president Amado Boudou is also a respondent, Perfil reported.

* Itaú Unibanco Holding SA's head for Latin American operations, Ricardo Marino said the bank aims to complete its integration into Itaú CorpBanca, but they ruled out new acquisitions in the country, Pulso reported. Marino said it is gunning to be the third-ranked bank in the country in terms of return on equity after Banco Santander Chile and Banco de Chile.

PAN LATIN AMERICA

* Argentina's economy is expected to grow 3.5% next year with inflation falling from about 23% this year to around 18%, La Nación reported, quoting Mario Mesquita, chief economist at Itaú Unibanco Holding SA. Mesquita said separately that Peru's economy was expected to be one of the region's best performers, expanding by 4% in 2018, Gestión reported.

* Argentine Production Minister Francisco Cabrera said he was confident that a free-trade deal between the Mercosur trade bloc and the European Union would be signed before the end of the year, El Cronista reported.

* Itaú Unibanco Holding SA has not entered Peru's banking market more aggressively due to a lack of opportunities caused by a highly competitive market dominated by several major players, the bank's CEO for Latin America operations, Ricardo Marino, told Gestión. The bank has had an office in Peru since 2011 and Marino said it was alert to potential opportunities in the country.

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.