* The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced additional sanctions against Iranian banks and other companies, including Mehr Eqtesad Bank and Bank Mellat PJSC, as part of a wider move against businesses and firms providing financial support to a paramilitary group subordinate to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which it said recruits child soldiers.
* The CEOs of HSBC Holdings PLC, Credit Suisse Group AG and Standard Chartered PLC have decided not to attend Saudi Arabia's Financial Investment Initiative conference following the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, The Wall Street Journal reported. BNP Paribas SA Chairman Jean Lemierre and London Stock Exchange Group PLC CEO David Schwimmer also opted not to attend. The executives' decisions mean the firms could miss out on future potential lucrative transactions with the Saudi government, although most banks will still send delegations.
* IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde postponed a trip to the Middle East that included Saudi Arabia's investment conference, the Financial Times reported.
* BlackRock Inc. CEO Larry Fink, who earlier decided not to attend the conference, said the U.S. asset manager will continue to do business in Saudi Arabia even if it emerges that the country ordered the killing of Khashoggi, CNBC reported.
GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL
* Fitch Ratings affirmed Qatar's long- and short-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings at AA-/F1+ and its country ceiling at AA, with stable outlooks non the long-term ratings.
* Financial Services Co. SAOG's board resolved to begin talks with Gulf Investment Services Holding Company SAOG unit Gulf Baader Capital Markets S.A.O.C. to explore the possibility of creating a new entity that will offer stockbroking and investment advisory services, subject to final approvals from regulators and both companies' boards and shareholders. Gulf Investment Services Holding confirmed that its unit received a merger offer from Financial Services Co.
* Saudi Investment Bank CEO Musaed al-Mineefi said a plan by J.P. Morgan International Inc. to sell its stake in the bank will be positive for the lender's existing shareholders, Argaam wrote.
* Saudi Arabia-based Maalem Financing raised 100 million riyals from a debut sukuk issuance, Reuters reported, citing board member John Sandwick. Maalem, which received regulatory approval to operate as a non-real estate finance firm in 2016, plans to open several regional offices by the end of 2018 and expects to be granted approval for a crowdfunding license, Sandwick added.
* Hyperion Insurance Group Ltd. unit Howden Broking Group Ltd. appointed Sajith Kumar CEO of its unit in the United Arab Emirates, subject to regulatory approval.
* Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait said it has received approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to trade up of 10% of its issued shares for further 90 days, effective Oct. 15.
REST OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
* Morocco's Banque Centrale Populaire said it has completed the acquisition of Mauritius-based Banque des Mascareignes Ltée from France's Groupe BPCE for an undisclosed sum, Reuters reported. Banque des Mascareignes will be rebranded following the deal.
* Moody's affirmed First International Bank of Israel Ltd.'s A3 long-term deposit rating, among other ratings, and changed the outlook to positive from stable. Separately, the rating agency upgraded Israel Discount Bank Ltd.'s long-term bank deposit rating to A3 from Baa1 and changed the outlook to stable from positive, among other ratings actions.
* Moody's changed the outlook on the Tunisian government's issuer ratings to negative from stable and affirmed them at B2. The agency also changed the outlook on the Tunisian central bank to negative from stable and affirmed its B2 rating.
* Egypt has reached an agreement with the World Bank to receive a $3 billion loan, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.
EAST AND WEST AFRICA
* United Bank for Africa PLC reported third-quarter profit attributable to owners of the parent of 17.68 billion Nigerian naira, down from 18.02 billion naira a year earlier. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, attributable profit fell year over year to 58.91 billion naira from 59.47 billion naira.
* Moody's affirmed First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.'s B2/Not Prime long- and short-term local-currency deposit ratings, its B3/Not Prime long- and short-term foreign-currency deposit ratings and its B2/Not Prime long- and short-term local- and foreign-currency issuer ratings and changed the outlook on the long-term ratings to stable from negative, among other ratings actions.
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
* National Bank of Angola Governor Jose de Lima Massano warned that some of the country's 29 banks will be shut down should they fail to increase capital by December, the Financial Times wrote.
* Credit Suisse Group AG recently proposed to restructure part of billions of U.S. dollars of now-defaulted loans that the Swiss bank and Russia's VTB Group arranged in secret for a Mozambican state-owned firm in 2013, insiders told The Wall Street Journal. The restructuring would reportedly swap the loan into new debt with interest payments tied to Mozambique's future economic performance.
* An inquiry reviewing evidence on the suspended head of South Africa's Revenue Service, Tom Moyane, has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire Moyane for his reckless management of the agency during his tenure, Moneyweb reported.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific: Australia to probe financial firms; Nomura to settle US securities claims
Europe: Santander, Blackstone in Popular talks before resolution; Slovenia to float NLB
Latin America: Stone sets price range for IPO; Bancolombia fined
North America: Goldman Q3 EPS climbs YOY; Robinhood earns rebates from high-speed traders
Global Insurance: UnitedHealth ups guidance; FedNat's Michael loss; Florida freezes rate hikes
Sheryl Obejera, Henni Abdelghani, Sophie Davies and Helen Popper contributed to this report.
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