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Buying and selling; earnings highlights

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Buying and selling; earnings highlights

S&P Global Market Intelligence presents the week's latest news and trends in Latin American banking.

Buying and selling

* Banco Santander SA agreed to sell U.S. unit TotalBank to Banco de Credito e Inversiones SA for a consideration of about $528 million, subject to regulatory approvals and other usual conditions.

* Bank of Nova Scotia made a binding 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 $2.2 billion. Meanwhile, the Said family reportedly plans to remain as shareholders of BBVA Chile despite the offer of Scotiabank.

* Banco Comafi SA registered at the General Inspection of Justice its merger by absorption with Banco BC SA, formerly known as Deutsche Bank SA.

* Brazilian President Michel Temer will issue a decree in the coming days to allow the sale of shares in Banco do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul SA to foreigners.

* BlackRock Inc. agreed to acquire Mexico-based Grupo Financiero Banamex SA de CV's asset management business.

Earnings highlights

* Caixa Econômica Federal's third-quarter net profit more than doubled year over year to 2.17 billion Brazilian reais.

* Inversiones La Construcción SA reported a consolidated net profit of about $54.7 million for the third quarter, up 98.3% from the year-ago period.

* Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores SA's third-quarter profit fell 28.7% from a year earlier, posting net income attributable to owners of the parent of 437.9 billion Colombian pesos.

* Banco de Bogotá SA posted net income attributable to owners of the parent of 458.1 billion Colombian pesos, down 18.8% from the third quarter of 2016.

* Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Colombia SA booked a year-over-year increase of 16.7% in its consolidated third-quarter profit, reaching 75.55 billion Colombian pesos.

Legal challenges

* Argentine consumer association ADUC filed a new class-action lawsuit against Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires SA and Banco Columbia SA claiming that the banks have unfairly increased credit card and debit card fees for purchases abroad.

* Meanwhile, ACUBA, another Argentine consumer association, filed a class-action lawsuit against Banco Itaú Argentina SA over alleged violations of an agreement made with the College of Lawyers of the Province of Buenos Aires.

* Mexico's financial regulator CNBV will investigate Banco del Ahorro Nacional y Servicios Financieros S.N.C. for alleged security mistakes when the state-run bank distributed special payment cards for aid to earthquake victims in Chiapas and Oaxaca.

* Jorge Brito, the chairman of Banco Macro SA who is on leave, denied financing the purchase of printing company Ciccone Calcográfica, which is at the center of a political scandal in Argentina.

* BTG Pactual Group denies any allegations of irregularities regarding the sale of União de Lojas Leader after a client said they were suing the bank for its failed investment in the retail chain.

Regulatory drive

* Brazil's Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved a bill that allows municipalities to carry out banking operations and deposit their resources in credit unions instead of state banks.

* Brazil's National Monetary Council approved two new capital parameters for major banks to align regulations with Basel III rules, which will come into force fully in the country in 2019.

* Chile's financial regulator SBIF allowed nonbanking institutions to enter the prepaid card business under certain conditions.

* The law that will regulate Mexico's financial technology industry will include a provision that prevents banks from discriminating against fintech companies by denying them from opening accounts or by carrying out arbitrary closures.

In other news

* Banco Central de la República Argentina extended the suspension of Banco Finansur SA's operations for another 30 days as the bank continues to search for recapitalization or restructuring alternatives.

* Some Mexican financial institutions could face heightened liquidity and political risk levels amid the continued concentration of government lending in the country, Fitch Ratings warned.

* Brazil's major banks agreed to compensate clients who lost deposits as a result of government economic programs in the 1980s and 1990s.

* Banco Santander (Brasil) SA created a "family office" department under its private banking structure which will cater to high-income clients.

Featured this week on S&P Global Market Intelligence

* High interest rate environment spurs profit growth for Argentine banking majors: Argentina's largest banks saw a 35.3% increase in their third-quarter profits as still-high borrowing costs in the country led to a surge in net interest income.

* Ratings Roundup: A summary of various ratings actions on Latin American financial institutions and economies.

* Hires and Fires: A weekly rundown of executive management, board and other personnel moves at Latin American financial institutions.