* The Colombian government signed a peace agreementwith FARC rebels on Sept. 26, ending a decadeslong war that claimed a quarter ofa million lives, Reuters reported. Opinion polls show that Colombians should ratifythe accord in a vote on Oct. 2. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S.will consider removingthe rebel group from its list of terrorist organizations, the newswire reportedseparately.

* International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said theagency will extend an $11 billion creditline to Colombia as the country implements a peace plan following a historicagreement with FARC rebels, Portafolioreported.

* Moody's maintained its negativeoutlook on Brazil's banking system amid the country's weak economicrecovery. The rating agency expects that the sector's profitability and asset quality"will continue to face pressure due to the lagging effects of a deep recessionfrom which Brazil is just beginning to emerge." Moody's forecasts Brazil'sGDP to contract 3.5% in 2016.

MEXICO ANDCENTRAL AMERICA

* CentralAmerican sovereigns have limitedupside ratings potential as they face structural challenges that hinder economicgrowth, Fitch Ratings said. "Fitch believes progress in resolving structuralchallenges will be crucial, as several countries have deep-rooted competitivenessproblems, partly due to low human capital and difficult business environments,"the rating agency said.

* Financialtechnology firms will increasingly present more competitionfor banks in Mexico, and as such, new fintech companies should not have to facehigh regulatory barriers for entry, El Economistareported, citing Alejandra Palacios, the president of Mexican federal competitioncommission Cofece.

* Mexican bankingand securities commission CNBV said more than 1,000 banking industry professionalsin the country have been certifiedin the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, El Economista reported. The 47 banks operatingin Mexico all have a certified compliance officer, according to the CNBV.

* The governmentof the Mexican state of Jalisco has obtaineda 500 million Mexican pesos credit line from Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV to finance infrastructureprojects in the state, El Economista reported.Banorte reportedly offered the best terms out of three financial institutions thatsubmitted bids.

CARIBBEAN

* S&P Global Ratings affirmedJamaica's long and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratingsat B, with a stable outlook on the long-term ratings. The rating agency expectsthe country's creditworthiness to remain limited by its high general governmentdebt and interest burden, weak economy and vulnerability to external shocks. However,S&P also believes that Jamaica's new government will continue to meet ambitiousfiscal targets, potentially setting the stage for better GDP growth in the comingyears.

BRAZIL

* FormerBrazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci was arrestedon Sept. 26 as part of a corruption investigation into state-run oil firm Petrobras,Reuters reported. Among other allegations, Palocci is believed to have wrongly approvedloans from state development bank BancoNacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social for engineering and constructionconglomerate Odebrecht SA.

* revised itsforecastfor 2016's current account deficit to $18 billion from a previous estimate of $15billion, Bloomberg News reported. The higher forecast is due to changes in estimatesfor imports and international travel, which went up in line with a stronger Brazilianreal.

* Brazilianbanking federation Febraban and government agencies are jointly evaluating measuresto reduce the volume of cash withdrawals in the country in order to cut down onmoney laundering and theft risks, Valor Econômicoreported.

* Brazilianbanking federation Fenaban will return to the negotiating table with labor unionson Sept. 27 and attempt to end a strikethat has been ongoing for more than 20 days, Valor Econômico reported. The two sides were unable to reach a wageagreement in at least two previous rounds of talks.

ANDEAN

* PeruvianEconomy and Finance Minister Alfredo Thorne appointedScotiabank Perú SAA executivePedro Grados as the new head of the country's main development bank, ,or Cofide, Gestión reported. Grados replacesCarlos Abel Paredes Salazar, who has served as Cofide's acting CEO since May.

* said Augusto RestrepoGomez resigned as chiefcorporate services officer to pursue personal projects. The company's board namedJaime Alberto Villegas Gutierrez as its new chief corporate services officer. Gutierrezwill continue to act as chief innovation and digital transformation officer untila replacement for that position is found.

* BancolombiaSA said its board approveda global program for the issuance of short-terms notes for an amount of up to $1.50billion. The program has an indefinite duration, and the notes will have maturitiesof between one month and three years.

SOUTHERNCONE

* Banco Santander RíoSA said it opened a branchin the city of Laferrere, located in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires.

* BBVA Banco Francés SAsaid it completed its purchaseof a 51% stake in Volkswagen CreditCompañía Financiera SA. Under the deal, BBVA purchased 23.97 millioncommon shares in Volkswagen Credit for 53.04 million Argentine pesos.

* Argentine companies are holding back on bond issuanceseven after the country ended its long-running litigation with holdout creditorsand returned to international markets earlier in 2016, Bloomberg News reported."After 10 years of disconnection or isolation from the world, companies arenot ready," said Marcelo Mindlin, chairman of Pampa Energia SA. "It takestime for the corporates to get used to the new scenario."

* U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew praised the Argentine government's economicreform measures and said the U.S. will try to speed up the exchangeof tax information that might assist the South American country in repatriatingforeign assets, Reuters reported.

* Banco Central de la RepúblicaArgentina President Federico Sturzenegger said the central bank's targetrange for inflation in 2018 will be between 8% and 12%, compared to a rangeof 12% to 17% in 2017, Reuters reported.

* Danilo Astori, Uruguay's economy minister, said the government has identified79 localities that are facing challenges in terms of financialinclusion, El Observador reported.These locations will be prioritized under a government financial inclusion program.

PAN LATINAMERICA

* Markel Corp.appointed Arjan van deWall director of development for the Americas in its trade credit and politicalrisk operation based in New York. Van de Wall's role is to assist with businessgrowth across the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

* A study by LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that banks typically rejectbetween 6% and 15% of would-be clients due to legal and regulatory concerns, Reutersreported. According to the survey, Brazilian banks showed a tendency to turn awaythe highest number of people.

IN OTHERPARTS OF THE WORLD

* Asia-Pacific:BofA to cut Asia i-bank jobs; Bankof India sells stake in JV with Dai-ichi Life

* Middle East& Africa: Attijariwafa comes toChad; Saudi shares rally

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

Paula Mejiacontributed to this article.

The DailyDose has an editorial deadline of 8:00 a.m. São Paulo time, and scans news sourcespublished in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Some external links may require asubscription.