ECB bond-buying purchase accelerates amidwind-down rumors: The ECBlast week purchased €18.07 billion worth of government bonds, the most sincelate May, following recent speculation that the central bank could wind downits bond-buying program, Reuters reports. The ECB dismissed the rumors and maintained that it is committed tomove forward with the program until inflation forecasts point back to itstarget of almost 2%.

* EuropeanInvestment Bank President Werner Hoyer warned that recent levels ofcheap loans to the U.K. "cannot be maintained" once it leaves the EU,adding that U.K. companies will increasingly have trouble borrowing forinfrastructure financing from the EIB, the Financial Times reports.The bank is entirely owned by the EU and loans need approval from member states.

UK AND IRELAND

RBS drove business to default for own gain,data leak shows: Leakeddocuments show thatRoyal Bank of Scotland GroupPlc deliberately put businesses into default to boost its ownprofits by picking up their assets on the cheap or charging higher interest andfees, according to BBC News. RBS employees were encouraged to be able tojustify moving struggling businesses to its controversial global restructuringgroup division, where the group squeezed cash from them by taking an equitystake or pushing them into administration.

* Lawyers and analysts warn that RBS' legal billscould pile up to as much as $27 billion over the next few years, Reuters reports. The amount includesupper-end estimates to settle claims related to RBS' misselling of MBS in theU.S. and a legal case involving more than 100 small businesses claiming thatRBS deliberately drove them into financial difficulties.

* Leaked governmentdocuments suggest that a so-called hard Brexit could cost the U.K. up to £66billion in tax revenues a year, accordingto The Times. The papers warned that GDP could fall by up to 9.5% ifthe country leaves the European single market and just relies on World TradeOrganization rules to keep trading with the EU.

* U.K. Brexit StateSecretary David Davis said yesterday that the U.K. will have a"reasonable" leverage in negotiations with the EU over passportingrights that would allow British financial firms to do business in Europe afterthe country leaves the EU, Reuters reports. Davis said the Treasury had also been looking into alternativearrangements to allow financial services to be sold across the EU from Britain.

* closed theacquisition ofU.K.-based ATM operator YourCash Europe Ltd. The deal adds about 5,000 ATMsacross the U.K., Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland to Euronet Worldwide'snetwork.

* Ulster Bank Ireland DAC a nonperforming loan portfolio witha face value of €2.5 billion, to U.S. private equity firm . It isnot clear how much Cerberus paid for the portfolio, also known as ProjectOyster.

* The Central Bankof Ireland finedKBC Bank Ireland Plc€1.4 million and reprimanded the KBC Group NV unit for breaches of code of conduct onlending.

GERMANY, SWITZERLANDAND AUSTRIA

Deutsche Bankmulls strategy rethink: Deutsche BankAG's management is reconsidering its reorganization plan, which hasnot made much progress since its implementation in October 2015, insiders tellReuters. Adjustments on the bank's overhaul, which aimed to cut staff and sell noncorebusinesses in a bid to cut costs, will likely be decided this quarter.

* The ECB agreed to special treatment for Deutsche Bank in its2016 European bank stress test by factoring in the $4 billion proceeds from thesale of its stake in Hua Xia BankCo. Ltd., even though the deal was not completed by the 2015-endcutoff for transactions to be included in the stress test, according to the FinancialTimes. The special treatment boosted Deutsche Bank's common equity Tier 1ratio under the test's adverse scenario to 7.8% from 7.4%.

* Singaporean and Swiss regulators over breachesin its anti-money laundering controls and its senior management's improperconduct, following investigations on the bank's links with the troubled1Malaysia Development Bhd. The Monetary Authority of Singapore revoked the bank'slicense in the city-state and fined its local branch S$4.3 million, while Swissregulator FINMA fined it CHF2.5 million and banned it from entering into newbusiness relationships with foreign politically exposed persons for three years.

* Ravi Raju, the Hong Kong-based head of DeutscheBank's wealth management business in Asia-Pacific, is leaving the firm afternine years to join UBS GroupAG, Finews.com reports.

* Sparda-Bank Münster eG and have shelvedtheir planned merger, Börsen-Zeitung reports.The cooperative banks announced their intention in March to merge intoSparda-Bank Nord-West, but the plan became unworkable for Sparda-Bank Münster,according to Sparda-Bank Hannover Management Board Chairman Andreas Dill.

* Swiss Life Holding Ltd. unit Swiss Life Asset Managerswill acquire MayfairCapital Investment Management Ltd., an independent owner-managed real estateinvestment management company based in London. The acquisition is expected tobe completed in the fourth quarter.

* UBS looks likely to launch its Europeansubsidiary in the fourth quarter, with Frankfurt as the anticipated locationfor the new bank, Börsen-Zeitung reports.Jürg Zeltner, UBS' president of wealth management, tells SonntagsZeitung that aEuropean bank is vital for UBS because Switzerland may not be able to maintaineasy access to the European market.

* Julius Bär Gruppe AG namedRégis Burger CEO of Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd. in Dubai, effective Oct. 1.

* A judge dismissed charges against formerCredit Suisse GroupAG trader Rohit Jha, who was accused of concealing about $18million in unauthorized trades and dismissed from the lender in October 2013,Bloomberg News reports.

* The Austrian province of Carinthia said yesterdaythat Heta Asset ResolutionAG's discounted buybackoffer for about €11 billion in debt issued by the former HypoAlpe-Adria-Bank International was accepted by 98.7% of creditors. More than99.5% of senior bondholders accepted the offer, while 89.4% of junior creditorsagreed to it. 

FRANCE AND BENELUX

Franceopposes big hikes in capital requirements for banks: France is against anysignificant increases in banks' capital requirements under new global rulesthat the Basel Committee aims to finalize by year-end, saying the increaseshould not exceed 5%, insiders tell Reuters. The bankingindustry has dubbed the reforms Basel IV and warned that they could lead tohikes in capital requirements of 10% or more.

* , and have invested €1billion in kangaroo bonds, or Australian dollar-denominated bonds issued bynon-Australian companies, in the last 18 months, Les Echos notes.

* The Frenchgovernment is passing legislation through parliament that will enable borrowersto renegotiate the terms of their lending insurance every year, Les Echos reports.

* French governmentproposals to reduce the validity of checks to six months from one year havebeen thrown out by lawmakers and the executive division is not planning to pushthem through again, Les Echos reports.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

Portugal readies help for banks' NPLproblem: PortugueseFinance Minister Mário Centeno said the government is preparing legislationthat would make it easier for banks to sell certain assets as part of broaderefforts to tackle nonperforming loans, Bloomberg News reports.Centeno also said the government was working on a way to get bad loansoff banks' balance sheets without needing state aid, with officials set tostart discussing the issue with the European Commission in earnest this month.

* The Portuguese Banking Association said Portuguese lendershave some €4 billion in excess liquidity, equivalent to about 2% of thecountry's GDP and far above the minimum buffer required by the ECB, Expressoand Diáriode Notícias write.

*Novo Banco SA soldits 42% stake in call center business ES Contact Center to France-based Armatisfor an undisclosed amount, Jornal deNegócios reports.

* The China Insurance Regulatory Commission andPortugal's Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority signed anagreement to promoteregulatory and business cooperation between the two countries. The agreementcovers information exchange, professional training and technology support.

ITALY AND GREECE

Greece receives newbatch of loans: Eurozone finance ministers approved a €1.1 billion payout to Greece,with an additional €1.7 billion to follow this month, Bloomberg News reports.The first payout was authorized after it was "unanimously decided"that the country had successfully met the 15 conditions on matters such asselling state assets and improving bank governance.

* will €380 million ingovernment-guaranteed bonds, which will be used as collateral for the bank toreceive emergency liquidity aid from the Bank of Greece. The EuropeanCommission approved the planned issuance, noting it is compatible with EU stateaid rules, Express writes.

* Generali unit Banca Generali SpA considers the price that is seeking for thesale of unit FinecoBankSpA to be too high, MF writes. UniCredit initially set theprice for FinecoBank at €3.1 billion but lowered it to €2.5 billion.

* Before examining potential mergers, and willhave to come up with a new industrial plan, IlSole 24 Ore writes. Meanwhile, Popolare di Vicenza could freezeits industrial plan as there are too many uncertainties related to litigation,NPLs and cost reduction to be able to outline a growth plan to 2020, Il Messaggero reports.

* Azimut Holding SpA is said to be close to announcing themerger of Brazilian asset managers AZ Quest Investimentos Ltda. and AZ LeganAsset Management Ltda., which would result in a combined firm with roughly 4.3billion Brazilian reais in AUM, insiders tellReuters.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

Tryg posts Q3 result: Tryg A/S today reporteda third-quarter profit after tax of 732 million Danish kroner, compared to theyear-ago 110 million kroner. Technical result increased year over year to 744million kroner from 647 million kroner, but the company said it is"broadly in line" with the previous year when adjusted for one-offeffects in the quarter.

* SkandiabankenAB formally appointed Johanna Cerwall permanent CEO, DagensIndustri reports.Cerwall had served as acting CEO since April.

* Nets HoldingA/S reached a strategic partnership agreement with financialsoftware specialist Oberthur Technologies that will enable the Danish mobilepayments firm to access cooperation with leading mobile payment players such asApple Pay and Samsung Pay, Børsen writes.

EASTERN EUROPE

Garanti tosell Russian unit to Sovcombank: Türkiye Garanti Bankasi AS will sella 99.98% stake in Russian subsidiary Commercial Bank Garanti Bank - Moscow (AO) toRussia-based PJSCSovcombank for nearly $40.5 million.

* Meanwhile, Sovcombank is interested in acquiringVnesheconombank unitsGlobex Bank and InterregionalBank for Settlements of the Telecommunications & PostalServices, and is carrying out due diligence in the units, Kommersantreports.

* Russian central bank Deputy Governor MikhailSukhov, who is set to step down Oct. 17, will join VTB Bank as management boarddeputy chairman, Vedomostiand Kommersant write.

* divested its 100%holding in CJSC Armenian-RussianExport-Import Bank-Gazprombank Group, Vedomosti writes. Thebank did not specify whether it sold its stake in the subsidiary or transferredit to another structure within the group.
* MarekChrzanowski will become the new head of the Polish FSA, replacing AndrzejJakubiak, whose five-year term in office ends tomorrow, Rzeczpospolita writes.Separately, the regulator proposedrecommendations for banks regarding fixed-rate mortgages, such as offeringloans with a fixed-rate period of at least 10 years.  

* Raiffeisen Bank International AG CFO Martin Grüll saidthe bank should soon sell its leasing unit in Poland to , noting that thesale would only happen if the price is right, the Warsaw Business Journal reports.

* More than 500 peoplelaunched a class suit against mBank SA relating to Swiss franc-indexed mortgage loans,with the first hearing scheduled for December, Parkiet reports.

* The Czech financeministry will ask the government to provide 2.5 billion Czech koruny tostrengthen the capital of Ceská exportní banka, E15 reports. Thebank needs additional capital to deal with problem loan agreements concludedunder previous governments.

* Romanian parliament committees approved a billallowing Swiss franc-denominated mortgage holders to convert their loans intothe local currency at historical rates, Reuters reports. 

IN OTHER PARTS OF THEWORLD

Asia-Pacific: India to restructure 300B rupees of loans; China to swap bad debtfor equity

Middle East & Africa: QNB posts Q3 result; Kenyan bank gets CEO; Moza Banco future ontable

Latin America: Citi names buyers for Brazil, Argentina ops; Caixa looks to transferstate loan guarantees

North America: Wells gets another letter from senators; community bank attemptstakeover in Illinois

North America Insurance: Fears ease over Matthew-related loss estimates; MetLife to remain intop 10 global ranking after split

NOW FEATURED ONS&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Sellingbad loans as bonds set to help Europe's banks, but at a cost:Europe's banks are struggling with €1 trillion of bad debts. Turning some ofthem into bonds may help remove them from their books.

Pricecomparison websites struggle to crack European insurance market:Price comparison websites may have taken the British motor insurance market bystorm, but the business model is unlikely to capture an equally large share ofthe market in other European countries, according to S&P Global Ratings.

Leo Magno, Ed Meza, Danielle Rossingh, PraxillaTrabattoni, Beata Fojcik, Mike Hatzidakis, Gerard O'Dwyer, Brian McCulloch, Helen Popper, Yael Schrage and AliKayalar contributed to this report.

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