* A proposed bankruptcy law in Brazil will allow creditor banks to take control of and make management changes at companies undergoing a judicial reorganization process, Folha de S.Paulo reported. The bill could be sent to Congress once Brazil's pension reform proposal is voted on.
* S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on Colombia to BBB- from BBB and its long-term local currency sovereign credit rating to BBB from BBB+. The combination of weaker-than-expected growth in 2017 and partial reliance on one-off revenues this year to offset revenue underperformance from a 2016 tax reform demonstrates the difficulty Colombia faces in gradually reducing its general government deficits, S&P said.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
* The majority of analysts surveyed by Reuters expect Mexico's central bank to hike its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.25% at a meeting scheduled for Dec. 14, Reuters reported. Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya said the central bank should take into account the domestic situation as well as how the U.S. Federal Reserve acts on monetary policy.
* Mexican financial consumer protection agency Condusef said it registered just over 6.6 million complaints against local banks between January and September, up 23% from the whole of 2016, El Economista reported.
* Fitch Ratings expects Mexico's insurance industry to grow between 10% and 12% in 2018 if the country's economic growth accelerates to 2.4% next year from a projected 2.3% in 2017, El Economista reported.
* EFG International AG has completed the migration onto its groupwide IT platform of the remaining Swiss businesses in Ticino of BSI SA, which it acquired from BTG Pactual Group in 2016 for CHF1.06 billion.
* Banco Mercantil de Investimentos SA said its board approved a 60.0 million reais capital increase involving the issuance of 3,000,000 common shares with a subscription price of 20 reais each.
* Private equity firm GP Investments Ltda. is looking to generate at least $300 million from international investors to acquire control of power distribution firm in Brazil, Bloomberg News reported.
* Brazil's government is likely to approve a new bank resolution law in the coming months that could impact bank issuer default ratings that are driven by sovereign support, Fitch Ratings said. A key aspect of the law will be the bail-in mechanism, which will define the hierarchy of loss absorption by each type of creditor in the event of resolution. Fitch expects the mechanism to be broadly similar to those adopted in North America and Europe.
* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social CEO Paulo Rabello de Castro expects the bank's annual loan disbursements to average 120 billion reais between 2018 and 2022, Valor Econômico reported.
* Banco Santander (Brasil) SA is introducing new digital signature and face recognition technology for online payments, Reuters reported. The system, called Identity Check Mobile, should become available in the first quarter of 2018.
* Brazilian deposit insurance fund FGC, which provides financial cover for bondholders in the case of a financial institution's collapse, has proposed fixing a ceiling of 1 million reais for the amount it will guarantee per investor, Valor Econômico reported. The proposal needs regulatory and other approvals.
ANDEAN
* Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has threatened to ban opposition parties from presidential elections in 2018, Reuters reported. The U.S. State Department condemned the threat, saying Venezuelans "deserve the right to express their views and consent to governance through a free and fair democratic process that is open to all candidates."
* Peru's SBS banking regulator has issued new regulations to crack down on money laundering and terrorism financing, requiring companies to request additional information from clients who conduct cash transactions in foreign currency, El Comercio reported.
* S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Grupo de Inversiones Suramericana SA to BBB- from BBB. The action follows a downgrade of Colombia's sovereign ratings. S&P believes Grupo Sura won't be able to overcome a sovereign default stress test scenario.
SOUTHERN CONE
* Multifinanzas Compania Financiera SA said Malena Stier resigned as a director due to personal reasons.
* Argentine banks are raising the interest rate they pay on inflation-adjusted, fixed-term savings accounts in order to attract savers and in turn meet brisk demand for mortgage loans, El Cronista reported. Some lenders are also considering shortening the minimum deposit term to three months from six.
* Uruguay's central bank wants to change current regulations governing the bank resolution process in order to streamline legal procedures and strengthen the powers of the Copab deposit insurance fund, El Pais reported. A draft bill containing those changes was sent to parliament in October.
PAN LATIN AMERICA
* Moody's said it has a stable outlook for Latin American banks, reflecting an expected improvement in the region's economic growth that will stabilize operating environments for lenders. Stability in asset quality should anchor profitability and capitalization, both of which will cushion banks from a sudden spike in delinquencies, it said.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
* Middle East & Africa: Iran vows to prop up banks; Fitch downgrades Oman
S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.
Helen Popper contributed to this article.
The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 8:00 a.m. São Paulo time, and scans news sources published in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Some external links may require a subscription.
