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MENA news through Sept. 18

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MENA news through Sept. 18

* In a divided decision, the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered the bank's benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points yesterday, easing policy for the second time this year to stave off worries about a potential slowdown.

* Asset managers based in the Gulf region will likely see steady growth over the next 10 years on the back of the region's diversification from oil and encouragement of foreign investment, Moody's said. However, the agency cautioned that firms will be challenged by increased asset inflows testing their capacity constraints and demand from clients for a broader range of products and lower fees.

GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL

* Following the Fed's move, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority lowered its repo rate to 2.50% from 2.75% and the reverse repo rate to 2.00% from 2.25%. The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates also cut interest rates applied to the issuance of its certificates of deposits by 25 basis points, WAM reported. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Kuwait maintained its discount rate at 3.0%.

* The amended capital market law in Saudi Araba will pave the way for other bourses to be formed in the country, with the Saudi Capital Market Authority planning to grant licenses for companies planning to provide exchange, depository or clearing house operations, Reuters reported, citing the regulator's chairman, Mohammed bin Abdullah Elkuwaiz.

* Saudi Arabia's cabinet has amended the rules for the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and mandated that the Capital Market Authority coordinates with the central bank and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority in overseeing the securities custody, Argaam reported.

* UBS Group AG named Ghassan Soufi the new desk head of its Saudi Arabian unit in Riyadh, according to a press release carried by Thomson Reuters' Zawya. Soufi joined the Swiss lender from Samba Financial Group's private bank.

* Following the Sept. 14 drone attacks on Saudi Arabian Oil Co.'s Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais field, Saudi officials are considering delaying the oil giant's IPO, several media outlets reported. Although Aramco is expected to go ahead with presentations to analysts and meetings with bankers as planned, Saudi officials and Aramco executives are discussing rescheduling the IPO until the company's production levels have returned to normal.

* Saudi Arabia and the UAE will finalize by year-end the pilot operations of their planned common digital currency for cross-border bank transactions, and will extend it to other countries at a later stage, Al Eqtisadiah reported, citing Hisham al-Hogail, deputy governor for banking operations at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.

* Cedric Lizin stepped down as wealth management head of UBS Group's branch in Dubai after two years in the role, finews.com reported.

* Standard Chartered PLC is conducting an internal review of about 8,000 customer accounts at its private bank following a discovery that it cannot explain the sources of wealth for some of its clients, Bloomberg News reported. As per a previously unreported Dubai regulatory review conducted in 2017, the bank lacked current addresses and phone numbers for some customers and lacked information on how these and other clients built up their wealth, insiders said.

* The extraordinary general meeting of Qatar First Bank LLC (Public) approved the lender's capital reduction by 65% to 700 million riyals, subject to regulatory approval.

* Some of Qatar's largest banks may need to raise capital to comply with Basel IV's stricter capital requirements ahead of its introduction in 2022, and in the nearer term, the country's banking sector must also take steps to prepare for the introduction of VAT, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence report.

* Bwalet, the first mobile wallet product in Bahrain, now offers money transfers to bank accounts in the U.K., according to Arabian Business.

* KAMCO Investment Company K.S.C.P. said its general assembly approved the company's merger with Global Investment House KSC (Closed), through acquiring Global.

* The board of Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank BSC approved the share exchange ratio for its potential merger with Kuwait Finance House KSCP, in which shareholders would receive 1 KFH share for every 2.325581 shares they presently hold in AUB.

REST OF MIDDLE EAST

* Iran plans to start an international stock exchange in free trade zones, to be opened in Kish in February next year, the Financial Tribune reported.

* Iran's Supreme Council of Economic Coordination has extended the central bank's mandate to intervene and regulate the foreign exchange market for another year, the Financial Tribune wrote, citing Fars News Agency.

* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and its allies failed to secure an outright majority in the country's second general election this year as exit polls suggested a tight contest.

* Israel's National Insurance Institute would likely hit bankruptcy in 2050 and would require a government bailout but an intervention should be carried out sooner, Globes reported, citing an analysis by the country's central bank.

* Jordan's central bank has also cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, after the Fed's rate cut, Reuters reported.

NORTH AFRICA

* Abdelkader Bensalah, Algeria's interim president, has announced that the country's first presidential elections since the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika last April will be held Dec. 12, Agence Ecofin reported. It is the second election announcement in less than three months.

* The nonperforming loan allocations taken by banks in Egypt had fallen to 122.27 billion Egyptian pounds as of June-end from 125.22 billion pounds as of May-end, Daily News Egypt reported, citing central bank data.

* Misr Insurance Holding Co. aims to establish a life takaful unit by the middle of next year, Amwal Al Ghad reported, citing Basel el-Hini, the Egypt-based firm's chairman and managing director. The firm will hold a controlling stake of nearly 75% in the envisaged unit.

* Banque Centrale Populaire's first-half net profit attributable to shareholders rose 5.5% year over year to 1.64 billion Moroccan dirhams, according to Reuters.

Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Sophie Davies contributed to this report.

This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.