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Nex, CME in preliminary takeover talks; Brexit transition deal within reach

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Nex, CME in preliminary takeover talks; Brexit transition deal within reach

* Britain's Brexit Secretary David Davis told parliament that a transition deal with the EU will be finalized next week, with negotiations progressing smoothly in recent days, Bloomberg News reported. Davis said he is aiming for a deal on a Brexit transitional period to be reached at a summit of EU leaders commencing next Thursday.

* Robert Ophèle, chairman of French markets regulator AMF, said the EU's single market access rules for firms in non-EU countries should be overhauled as Britain is about to leave the bloc, Reuters reported.

* A U.S. judge yesterday dismissed a lawsuit accusing 16 big banks of causing indirect damages to retail foreign-currency investors by allegedly rigging prices, Reuters reported. Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG are among the banks in the dismissed lawsuit.

* Former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso refuted claims that he had lobbied ex-colleagues on behalf of his current employer Goldman Sachs Group Inc., after European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly criticized the EC for failing to properly assess whether Barroso's new job undermined trust in the EU, Reuters reported.

UK AND IRELAND

* Nex Group Plc said it has received a preliminary takeover approach from CME Group Inc., noting that the talks are in the early stages and may not necessarily lead to a transaction.

* HSBC Holdings Plc revealed a mean hourly gender pay gap at its main U.K. banking unit HSBC Bank Plc of 59% and a mean bonus pay gap of 86%. The gap is the biggest yet reported by a British financial firm, Reuters noted, citing U.K. government data.

* Old Mutual Plc will sell its Latin American businesses to Singapore-based financial holding company CMIG International.

* Ireland-based intelligence provider and credit reporting agency Experian Plc will acquire U.K.-based financial technology firm Clear Score Technology Ltd. for £275 million.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* The Swiss National Bank kept its key benchmark rates on hold in negative territory as it seeks to curb the franc's appreciation.

* The Swiss Parliament has rejected a proposal to return to Malaysia more than $100 million forfeited by Switzerland's banks in a corruption case involving Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd., according to Reuters.

* About 50 Swiss regional banks led by Entris Banking AG are planning to launch their own banking association because they feel underrepresented by existing lobbying groups such as the Swiss Bankers Association, Finews reported.

* Munich Re Co. CEO Joachim Wenning said the German reinsurer is planning to lay off 900 employees, with half of the cuts to take place in Munich and the other half in the U.S., to save costs of about €200 million, Reuters reported.

* Former Deutsche Bank AG trader Christian Bittar pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud in connection with the U.K. Serious Fraud Office's investigation into the manipulation of the Euro Interbank Offered Rate.

* Walliser Kantonalbank announced that Chairman Jean-Daniel Papilloud will step down from his post on May 16. Finews noted that his early departure could have to do with a loan to pharmaceutical company Alkopharma SA, which was later found to have falsified cancer drugs and was liquidated shortly thereafter.

FRANCE AND BENELUX

* Groupama reported net income of €292 million for full year 2017, down from €322 million in 2016.

* Société Générale SA is hopeful that the three outstanding cases it faces in the U.S. — relating to the London Interbank Offered Rate, the Libyan sovereign fund and alleged violations of sanctions against Cuba — will be settled in a few weeks or months, according to Les Echos.

* French insurers are pushing for changes in natural disaster legislation, Les Echos reported. Climate events cost them €3 billion in 2017, up 13% from the previous year.

* The French finance ministry and regulators are pushing for a liberal regulatory system for initial coin offerings in a bid to make Paris the global ICO capital, Les Echos wrote.

* Olga Zoutendijk's successor as supervisory board chairman at ABN Amro Group NV will come from outside the group as the board did not see an internal candidate suitable for the post, De Telegraaf reported, citing Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra.

* A Belgian court ruled that Optima Bank NV founder Jeroen Piqueur must pay €20 million in guarantees to the administrators winding up the bank, which went bust in 2016, De Tijd and L'Echo wrote.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

* Bankia SA and Banco Mare Nostrum SA will function as one single entity from Monday, as the merger process comes to an end, Expansión reported.

ITALY AND GREECE

* Generali CEO Philippe Donnet said the Italian insurer is "very close" to making a decision on an internal runoff, a reorganization, a sale or a wind-down of its German life insurance portfolio and the liquidation of its AachenMünchener Lebensversicherung AG brand, Handelsblatt wrote.

* Apax and Fondo Strategico Italiano remain in the running to buy the IT platform of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA after BC Partners dropped out of the offer process, MF wrote. Bids are expected to be finalized in the next few weeks and preliminary valuations place the equity value of the platform at about €500 million.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Nordea Bank AB (publ) won shareholder approval to relocate its headquarters to Finland from Sweden at its annual general meeting yesterday. The move is still subject to approval by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Affärsvärlden noted.

* The Norwegian central bank decided to keep its key policy rate on hold at 0.50% and suggested that the first rate hike in seven years could happen much earlier than anticipated.

* The Danish Competition and Consumer Agency approved Alm. Brand A/S's acquisition of Saxo Privatbank A/S, according to Finanswatch.

EASTERN EUROPE

* Slovak President Andrej Kiska accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Robert Fico and asked Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini to set up a new government, E15 wrote.

* The Ukrainian parliament appointed Yakiv Smolii as central bank governor, Prime said.

* Otkritie Financial Corp. Bank is considering merging National Bank Trust PJSC with JSC Rost Bank, Vedomosti reported, adding that the merged unit could become a "bad bank" holding noncore assets.

* The Russian central bank allowed Bonum Capital to acquire a majority stake in Vozrozhdenie Bank from the former owners of PAO Promsvyazbank, bailed out by the regulator in 2017, Kommersant reported.

* Bulgarian insurance company Euroins, controlled by Euroins Insurance Group AD, plans to launch operations in Poland in the first half of 2018, SEENews reported.

* Tsesnabank JSC and Tsesna Financial Holding JSC sold their entire stake in Bank CenterCredit JSC, including 29.56% in ordinary shares and 90.28% in preferred shares of the lender.

* Romanian lender Banca Transilvania SA obtained approval from Romania's competition regulator and central bank to acquire Eurobank Ergasias SA unit Bancpost SA, Reuters reported.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: UBS merging Asia-Pacific units; Punjab National Bank detects more fraud

Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia raises rates; Egypt's CI Capital to list shares on stock exchange

Latin America: BNDES profit falls slightly in 2017; Sura sets up Mexican unit

North America: Senate passes Dodd-Frank revision bill; Wells Fargo faces sanctions

North America Insurance: California mulls public insurance option; GOP health proposal will cut premiums

NOW FEATURED ON S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Non-binding ECB guidance on new bad loans may influence bank capital: The ECB said it expects banks to take no more than two years to fully provision for unsecured bad loans formed after April 1, 2018, and a maximum of seven years for secured loans that go sour after the same date.

Old Mutual demerger on track for 2018-end, as profits rise across units: But after a 59% year-over-year increase in annual profit to £909 million, Old Mutual's group finance director warned that its "performance on a reported basis is unlikely to be repeated to the same extent" in the first half of 2018.

Generali disposal proceeds will 'definitely exceed' €1B: CEO: Philippe Donnet told analysts that more disposals will be announced soon, and that Generali is close to making a decision on whether to sell its German life run-off book.

Leo Magno, Arno Maierbrugger, Danielle Rossingh, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Brian McCulloch, Sophie Davies and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.

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