* Prosecutors in Brazil filed charges against Banco Santander (Brasil) SA, Banco Finaxis SA, Trendbank S A Banco De Fomento, the broker Planner and 12 other individuals for their alleged involvement in the Greenfield case, Reuters reported. The case involves allegedly fraudulent operations in the Petros and Postalis pension funds. Prosecutors are seeking 561.6 million reais in compensation.
* The Brazilian government raised its 2019 growth outlook to 0.85% from 0.81%, Reuters reported. However, the 2019 inflation forecast was also lowered to 3.6% from 3.8%. Following the announcement, the Brazilian real was down about 0.6% on Sept. 10, and the Bovespa stock index also fell 0.4% in the day. Shares of Banco Bradesco SA, Itaú Unibanco Holding SA and Banco do Brasil SA all fell about 2% each.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
* Economists polled by Reuters forecast Mexico's central bank will lower the benchmark rate later in 2019, based on slowing inflation and greater economic slack. In August, Banco de México cut the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 8.00% for the first time in five years.
* Moody's analyst Ariane Ortiz-Bollin warned that if Mexico's low economic growth and public spending cuts continue over the next two years, "2021 can be a more difficult, more critical year," El Financiero reported.
CARIBBEAN
* Insured losses from Hurricane Dorian in the Caribbean and the U.S. could exceed $5 billion, according to an estimate by catastrophe modeling company Karen Clark & Co. The assessment includes $3.62 billion in losses in the Bahamas and more than $1.5 billion in the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
* S&P Global Ratings assigned a "brA" national scale issuer credit rating to Omni Banco SA and Omni SA - Crédito, Financiamento e Investimento. The ratings reflect their strong performance in the segment of used vehicle financing originations for class C and D customers, which has anchored their robust profitability over the years.
BRAZIL
* Banco Santander (Brasil) SA launched a digital payment platform through its mobile application Way that will allow peer-to-peer transfers, account division and payment and transfers via QR, Valor Econômico reported.
* Brazil's central bank authorized British company TTT Moneycorp Ltd. to operate in the country as a currency exchange bank, Valor Econômico reported. The bank will focus on corporate clients, especially small and medium businesses.
* U.S. venture capital firm Bond Capital will launch this month a venture capital fund in Brazil which will be accessible to local investors, Valor Econômico reported.
* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social Chairman Carlos Thadeu de Freitas said the bank is expected to return about 3.2 billion reais to the Treasury before the end of the year, Estadão reported. The figure includes the 1.8 billion reais in dividend payments related to its profit in the first half of the year.
ANDEAN
* Colombian Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla said the government will issue 47.6 trillion pesos in debt to finance its 2020 budget, Reuters reported. Local bonds will be issued in the amount of 37.1 trillion pesos, while foreign bonds and multilateral loans will cover 10.5 trillion pesos.
* Colombian President Ivan Duque appointed Roberto Steiner, a former official at the International Monetary Fund, to the board of the central bank, Reuters reported. Steiner will replace Juan Pablo Zarate, who will serve as the vice-minister of finance and public credit.
SOUTHERN CONE
* Fitch Ratings downgraded the long-term issuer default ratings of Banco de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires to B- from B; Banco Supervielle SA, Banco Hipotecario SA and Tarjeta Naranja SA to CC from CCC; as well as Banco Santander Río SA and BBVA Banco Francés SA to CCC from B-. Fitch also downgraded the long-term issuer default ratings of Uruguay-based Banco de la Nación Argentina - Sucursal Uruguay and Provincia Casa Financiera were also downgraded to CC from CCC.
* Data from Argentina's central bank show a 22% drop in foreign reserves to $51.3 billion from $66.3 billion after the monetary authority tried to prop the peso up following a win by opposition presidential candidate Alberto Fernandez in the August primary elections, Reuters reported.
* Analysts polled by Chile's central bank expect the monetary authority to cut the benchmark rate to 1.75% by December as a trend of expansive monetary policy will continue this year into 2020, Reuters reported.
* JP Morgan is considering removing Argentine bonds from its government debt index, consisting of securities from emerging countries, after the imposition of capital controls in the country, El Cronista reported, citing a report from the investment bank. The bank said it would remove Argentina's debt from this index before November 29 if control measures are not removed.
PAN LATIN AMERICA
* Japan's SoftBank Group Corp. is in discussions with Latin American venture capital firms to potentially invest about $500 million to between five and 10 funds, Reuters reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter. Brazil's Valor Capital and Argentina's Kaszek Ventures have already obtained capital from SoftBank.
* Liberty Specialty Markets Ltd. appointed Alexander Montoya as president of its operations in the U.S., Bermuda and Latin America, effective immediately.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
* Asia-Pacific: China scraps cap for overseas investors; ASIC appeals Westpac ruling
* Middle East & Africa: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank exits India; Zimbabwe forms monetary policy committee
Pablo Jimenez Arandia contributed to this article.
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.
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