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MENA news through March 7

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MENA news through March 7

MIDDLE EAST

* Bank Leumi le-Israel BM unveiled plans to buy back up to 700 million Israeli shekels of its own shares as it reported full-year 2017 profit attributable to shareholders of 3.17 billion shekels, up 13.7% from 2.79 billion shekels in 2016.

* Israel Discount Bank Ltd. reported full-year 2017 attributable net profit of 1.26 billion shekels, up 39.1% from 905 million shekels in 2016. First International Bank of Israel Ltd. also reported net profit of 678 million shekels, up 30% from 521 million shekels the previous year.

* The Warsaw stock exchange submitted a nonbinding offer with Polish development fund PFR to acquire a 71.7% stake in Tel - Aviv Stock Exchange Ltd.

* Israel's Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Authority set out new corporate governance guidelines that would see a controlling shareholder in a financial company barred from chairing that company's board, among other proposed changes.

* The IMF said the direct economic and financial impact for Qatar resulting from its diplomatic rift with some neighboring Arab states is fading, noting that Qatar's banking sector has adjusted to a new funding model following a wave of deposit outflows resulting from the dispute. Meanwhile, Mohamed Damak, global head of Islamic finance at S&P Global Ratings, said the ongoing standoff remains the biggest geopolitical risk facing banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council area this year, followed by political instability in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

* Commercial Bank (PSQC) further extended to April 2 the exclusivity period for private equity firm Tabarak Investment, the potential buyer of its 40% stake in United Arab Emirates-based United Arab Bank PJSC. Separately, Commercial Bank CEO Joseph Abraham told Gulf Times that the Qatari lender will inject a further $300 million of capital into Turkish unit Alternatifbank AS.

* Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the government to address a dispute with banks contesting additional payments that they must make for Islamic tax, or zakat, insiders told Reuters. The General Authority of Zakat and Tax is asking lenders to pay additional zakat for years as far back as 2002, potentially costing 11 of the country's 12 listed banks approximately 9.8 billion Saudi Arabian riyals.

* Banque Saudi Fransi reported fourth-quarter 2017 net profit of 423 million riyals, up 13.1% from 374 million riyals in the year-ago period.

* Bank of New York Mellon Corp. intends to open an office in Riyadh as early as the second quarter and apply for an asset services license from the Saudi Capital Market Authority, insiders told Reuters. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co. will set up a custodian business in Saudi Arabia that will begin operations next quarter, The National reported.

* A number of banks in the UAE have banned online trading transactions in cryptocurrencies, Khaleej Times reported.

* Fitch Ratings downgraded Bahrain's long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings to BB- from BB+, with a stable outlook.

* The European Union is poised to remove Bahrain and two other jurisdictions from its blacklist of tax havens next week, cutting the number of jurisdictions in the list to six from the initial 17, Reuters reported.

* Arabia Falcon Insurance Co. launched its IPO on March 6, offering 25 million shares for 190 Omani baiza apiece.

* Mishaal al-Usaimi, vice chairman of Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority, told Bloomberg Television that the regulator is carrying out studies for the potential listing of Boursa Kuwait until the end of April, and plans to complete it by the end of the year.

* A consortium comprising the Civil Servants Pension Fund, the Agricultural Rural and Nomadic Pension Fund, and Social Security Investment Co. bought a 17.14% stake in Alborz Insurance Co. from the Iranian government, increasing its ownership in the company to 51.27% from 33.93%.

* The U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up Bank Melli Iran Inc.'s appeal of a lower court ruling that allowed the victims of various militant attacks allegedly backed by Iran to seek millions of dollars in compensation from the government-owned lender, Reuters reported.

NORTH AFRICA

* EFG-Hermes Holding SAE CEO Karim Awad said the bank plans to expand into a sub-Saharan African country this year, The National reported. The bank is also weighing plans to boost its staff numbers by 20% in preparation for an expected wave of deals in Saudi Arabia by the second half, Reuters reported, citing Mohamed Fahmi, EFG-Hermes' co-head of investment banking.

* Delta Insurance Co. accepted private equity firm Egypt Kuwait Holding Co.'s mandatory purchase offer for 5,843,792 shares in the company for approximately 116.9 million Egyptian pounds.

* The African Export-Import Bank intends to sell up to $1 billion worth of shares over the next five years, according to Reuters.

* Banque Centrale Populaire reported full-year 2017 net income group share of 2.84 billion Moroccan dirhams, up 7.5% from the year-ago 2.64 billion dirhams.

* The Banque Centrale de Tunisie raised its key interest rate to 5.75% from 5%.

S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.