* Qatar has reaffirmed its ties with Turkey and pledged $15 billion of direct investments as Turkey continues to grapple with a currency crisis and a political dispute with the U.S.

* State-owned Trade Bank of Iraq put on hold its plans to purchase a commercial bank in Turkey because of the rapidly weakening lira, Chairman Faisal al-Haimus told Reuters.

* Burgan Bank KPSC Group CEO Eduardo Eguren said the Kuwait-based lender does not expect any major impact on the profitability of Turkish unit Burgan Bank AS as a result of the currency crisis in Turkey, Al Bawaba reported.

GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL

* Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Bahrain's fiscal stability and economic growth as they discussed a financial support program aimed at helping Bahrain improve its finances and prevent a potential currency devaluation, Bloomberg News wrote, citing Bahrain News Agency.

* Al Sagr Cooperative Insurance Co. extended the term of Shafiq al-Rumaih as interim CEO for a period of six months.

* Al-Ahli Takaful Co. appointed Khalid al-Ghalib al-Sharif as a nonexecutive board member representing the National Commercial Bank.

* Fitch Ratings affirmed the BBB+/F2 long- and short-term issuer default ratings of Arab National Bank and Saudi Investment Bank, among other ratings. The outlook on the long-term ratings is stable. Separately, the agency maintained certain ratings of Alawwal Bank, including its long-term issuer default rating, on Rating Watch Positive.

* Kuwait-based global logistics firm Agility has partnered with U.S.-based Centerbridge Partners for the bid to acquire all or part of Abraaj Group Ltd.'s investment management unit, a source told Reuters.

* The DIFC Courts issued an order appointing two executives from Deloitte LLP as joint provisional liquidators to Abraaj Capital Ltd.

* Warba Bank KSCP said it received initial approval from Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority to act as investment portfolio manager, collective investment scheme manager, investment adviser and subscription agent and custodian.

* Al Mal Investment Co. - KPSC said its board is reviewing the cancellation of the financial brokerage services.

REST OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

* Israel Discount Bank Ltd. reported second-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders of 423 million shekels, up from 272 million shekels a year ago. The lender's first-half attributable profit also rose year over year, to 742 million shekels from 575 million shekels. Its board of directors declared a dividend of around 3.61 agorot for each ordinary share of 10 agorot par value for the second quarter. The board also approved an efficiency plan under which around 230 employees would be offered early retirement at beneficial terms, including an increased severance pay of up to 260%. Approximately 200 of the employees are expected to take early retirement by the end of the year.

* First International Bank of Israel Ltd. reported second-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders of 219 million shekels, up 45% from the year-ago 151 million shekels. For the first half, the lender's attributable profit was 356 million shekels, also up from 317 million shekels a year earlier. The bank's board of directors resolved to pay a dividend of 100 million shekels.

* The Egyptian Government has tasked Misr Insurance Holding Co. with drafting a new investment strategy focusing on insurance with the aim of increasing its investment return, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

* Tunisie Valeurs, a wealth manager and bond trader, received regulatory permission to list 35.23% of its capital in an IPO on Tunisia's stock exchange, Il Boursa reported.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA

* Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta said individual failures rather than banking failures caused the collapse of local lenders, Joy Business wrote. At least seven banks in the country, including UT Bank Ltd. and uniBank (Ghana) Ltd., have failed over the last 12 months. An office of ethics and internal investigations has been established to probe the roles of Bank of Ghana officials who may have contributed to the banks' failure.

* Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki said he is looking at running against President Muhammadu Buhari, who is seeking a second term, in the country's February 2019 elections, according to Bloomberg.

* The Central Bank of Kenya will hold its next monetary policy committee meeting on Sept. 24.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

* Moody's said in a report that the pace of South Africa's fiscal consolidation will be slower than government forecasts because of weaker-than-expected economic growth and a rising public sector wage bill. The agency noted, however, that medium-term deficit targets remain within reach.

* Santam Ltd. said it expects headline EPS for the six months ended June 30 to be between 10 South African rand per share and 10.40 rand per share, compared to 5.93 rand per share a year ago.

* Sygnia Ltd., an asset management firm based in South Africa, has shuttered its hedge-fund products and has now dismissed hedge-fund managers, with CEO Magda Wierzycka saying such funds were not working as intended, Bloomberg reported, citing an opinion piece in South Africa's Business Day.

* The Bank of Namibia maintained the repo rate at 6.75% to continue to support domestic growth and maintain the currency peg with the South African rand. For 2018, the central bank expects the economy to grow by 0.6% after contracting last year and inflation to average about 4.1%.

* Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa filed opposition papers at the Constitutional Court, asking to reject a court challenge recently filed by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa against Mnangagwa's election victory, Reuters reported.

* Angola's currency, the kwanza, lost 40.9% of its value against the euro after a currency auction by the central bank, said AngolaPress.

* The Central African Securities Exchange and the Douala Stock Exchange were unlikely to meet the Sept. 30 deadline for their merger, Financial Afrik wrote.

* President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo said his country is "far from bankruptcy" in a televised address to the nation, Jeune Afrique wrote. He added that the government was negotiating with the IMF and hopes to reach an agreement with the fund that will "contribute significantly" to improving its public finances, AFP noted.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: QBE H1 net profit rises YOY; Indonesia hikes rate; ANZ's OnePath sale in limbo

Europe: RBS finalizes $4.9B US settlement; VTB buys majority stake in Vozrozhdenie

Latin America: Q2 profits rise for Grupo Sura, BCI; Scotiabank to buy Dominican lender

North America: Berkshire ups Goldman Sachs stake; Wells Fargo operational risk chief to resign

Global Insurance: Alphabet backs health start-up; Berkshire ups Goldman stake; Anbang shops Vivat

Deza Mones, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.

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