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Argentina partly eases currency controls; Brazil central bank sees higher Q3 GDP

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Argentina partly eases currency controls; Brazil central bank sees higher Q3 GDP

* Argentina's central bank issued a resolution partially easing currency controls, allowing dollar purchases by companies that have renegotiated debts that came due before Aug. 30, El Cronista reported. That means that companies will be able to pay any newly issued corporate bonds in dollars. The central bank has issued a series of exceptions to the controls this month.

* The Brazilian central bank's monetary policy committee expects slight GDP growth in the third quarter, while inflation could stand between 3.6% and 3.8% in 2020, according to the minutes of their latest meeting.

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

* Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said it would be sensible for the central bank to enact more rate cuts as the country has one of the steepest real interest rates worldwide, Bloomberg News reported. Monetary policymakers are set to decide on the benchmark interest rate tomorrow.

* Mexican mortgage lender Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores has launched a probe into an alleged fraud targeting the entity's borrowers, El Economista reported, citing Director General Carlos Martínez Velázquez. Under the allegedly fraudulent scheme, borrowers were told they could tap resources from their home loan account but were in fact granted a payroll loan at a high interest rate.

BRAZIL

* Higher, sustainable growth rates will play a major role in improving Brazil's credit profile, but economic advancement in the country could be stifled in the coming years absent reforms and fiscal consolidation efforts, Moody's said. The rating agency estimates Brazil's economic growth at 0.9% in 2019 and 2.0% in 2020. If the government successfully implements key reforms, it could improve medium-term growth higher than the rating agency's 2%-to-2.5% forecasts for the next three years.

* Brazil's Febraban banking industry federation announced the launch of a self-regulation scheme for payroll loans effective January 2020, O Estado de S. Paulo reported. The scheme involves a call-blocking scheme for customers who do not want payroll loans and other measures aimed at cracking down on aggressive sales techniques.

* Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social is set to approve this week an early payment for dividends related to 2019 profit, worth 1.5 billion reais, to the Treasury, O Estado de S. Paulo reported. BNDES' board will decide on the matter tomorrow.

ANDEAN

* Colombia's government has proposed draft legislation that would increase the amount of tax that savers pay on interest earned from their deposits, El Tiempo reported. Under the proposal, an inflation adjustment would be eliminated, meaning more of the interest would be taxable.

* Banco Internacional del Perú SAA placed 312 million Peruvian soles in international bonds due in 2026 at an annual interest rate of 5.0%. The placement was part of a debt program for up to $800 million approved by the bank's board in August.

SOUTHERN CONE

* Argentine President Mauricio Macri met with International Monetary Fund officials on Sept. 24 over an upcoming $5 billion credit disbursement, Reuters reported. IMF Acting Managing Director David Lipton described the meeting as "constructive." Meanwhile, former IMF chief Christine Lagarde defended the $56.3 billion loan to Argentina in an interview with Bloomberg News, saying it was "the best we could at that time."

* The total volume of short-term Argentine debt instruments known as "pases pasivos," which have terms of one day, has reached 150 billion Argentine pesos, up from very marginal figures at the start of August, Reuters reported.

* Uruguay's government, keen about widening its potential financing sources due to reduced World Bank credit, has asked Congress to approve a plan for the country to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, El País reported. The country would need to contribute $5 million in capital to join the bank.

* Uruguay's government said it would reopen its 2031 and 2055 global bonds and offered to buy back dollar-denominated debt maturing in 2022, 2024 and 2027 as it seeks to take advantage of low rates by extending maturities, El Observador reported.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

* Middle East & Africa: Bank of Israel to grant license to 1st new bank in 40 years; Morocco holds rate

* Europe: UK court loss; Santander sees €1.5B charge; HSBC fine junked

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. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.