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Johnson to suspend UK Parliament; UBS reshuffles; Italian parties strike deal

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Johnson to suspend UK Parliament; UBS reshuffles; Italian parties strike deal

The Daily Dose LIVE returns to the City of London on Tuesday, Oct. 1! Join us for a timely panel discussion over breakfast on the vulnerabilities facing the banking sector and other parts of corporate Europe in a period of deep political, policy and economic uncertainty. Register today to secure your place at this popular breakfast event.

* Queen Elizabeth accepted a request from the U.K. government to suspend Parliament, making it harder for members of Parliament to block a no-deal Brexit. The move allows U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government to halt all parliamentary activity for more than a month before holding a Queen's Speech and declaring its future plans Oct. 14.

* Meanwhile, Britain's Brexit minister, Steve Barclay, called for the immediate start of negotiations with France on ways to ease the disruption of a potential U.K. departure from the EU without a withdrawal agreement in place. Barclay noted the U.K. continues to aim for an orderly exit but is also prepared for a no-deal Brexit.

* Andrea Enria, chair of the ECB's supervisory board, said banks will move €1.3 trillion worth of assets out of London to the eurozone after the U.K. exits the EU. Enria also warned that even though the sector is prepared for Britain's departure, there could be shocks in financial markets post-Brexit.

* The National Association of German Cooperative Banks has called on the ECB to refrain from taking more accommodative monetary policy measures at its upcoming meeting in September, arguing that while such measures are giving reduced impetus to the eurozone economy, their negative side effects are increasing.

* France nominated Sylvie Goulard, a deputy governor at the Banque de France, as its European commissioner, Les Echos reported.

UK AND IRELAND

* A Paris court dropped a case against Judah Elmaleh, a former executive at HSBC Holdings PLC's Swiss private bank, for allegedly assisting wealthy French clients in evading taxes and encouraging them to move funds to Switzerland, Bloomberg News reported. The court's judges noted that there was a lack of clear evidence against Elmaleh on the matter.

* Customers of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC unit National Westminster Bank PLC aired out frustrations online after failing to lodge claims on missold payment protection insurance ahead of today's deadline for making complaints.

* British lenders have proposed to implement a transaction fee of 2.9 pence on certain faster payment transactions above £30 to reimburse customers that become victims to scams, the Financial Times reported. Under the plan, which could be introduced as early as January, banks will pay the transaction fee but will have to decide whether to absorb the cost or pass it to customers.

* Smith & Williamson, one of the administrators of collapsed British investment firm London Capital & Finance PLC, informed investors that they will have to wait longer to receive compensation as its attempts to recover the money may face substantial legal issues, The Times reported.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* UBS Group AG appointed Iqbal Khan as co-president of its global wealth management division, effective Oct. 1, replacing Martin Blessing, who decided to step down from the role. At the same time, Suni Harford and Sabine Keller-Busse will succeed Ulrich Körner as president of the group's asset management division and president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, respectively.

* UBS is considering cutting a few hundred client adviser jobs in North America to improve the ratio between costs and earnings, Business Insider wrote, citing the bank's head of private wealth management and ultrahigh net worth in the Americas, John Mathews.

* FINMA said it has recognized adjustments to regulations proposed by the Swiss Bankers Association over mortgage lending for investment properties as a binding minimum standard. The changes will require borrowers to provide a minimum down payment of at least a quarter of the loan-to-value ratio, instead of the current 10%.

* Deutsche Bank AG is evaluating a plan to withdraw its retail operations from other German cities and consolidate the activities in its global headquarters in Frankfurt in an attempt to reduce costs, insiders told Bloomberg.

* Landesbank Baden-Württemberg posted first-half net consolidated profit attributable to shareholders of €219 million, up from €206 million a year earlier. For 2019, the German bank said it expects to book a "mid-nine-figure" profit.

* Commerzbank AG CEO Martin Zielke is to become president of the Association of German Banks next year, succeeding Hans-Walter Peters, Börsen-Zeitung noted.

* Constantin von Oesterreich, former CEO of HSH Nordbank, was appointed CEO of Südwestbank AG, effective Sept. 2. He will succeed Wolfgang Kühn, who is retiring.

* Allianz Group CEO Oliver Bäte said the insurer is drawing consequences from the low interest rate environment resulting from the ECB's monetary policy and will no longer buy German government bonds, Handelsblatt wrote. He also said the group's structures have become "too complex" and that he wants to radically rebuild the insurer by simplifying its product offerings, cutting distribution costs and analyze and improve technological infrastructure and its deployment, WirtschaftsWoche noted.

* Uniqa Insurance Group AG posted net profit attributable to shareholders of €105.6 million, down 5.9% from the year-ago €112.3 million.

* Swiss banking software firm Temenos AG agreed to acquire U.S. digital banking company Kony Inc. for an enterprise value of $559 million and an earnout of $21 million, subject to regulatory approvals.

* Sygnum AG co-founders Mathias Imbach and Gerald Goh told Bloomberg that the Swiss cryptocurrency company is planning to apply for a banking license in Singapore and has begun discussions on the matter with regulators. Earlier in the week, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority granted the firm a banking and securities dealer license.

* Liechtenstein-based private banking and asset management group LGT Gruppe Stiftung will acquire India-based Aspada's management organization and a substantial majority position of its portfolio from Soros Economic Development Fund.

FRANCE AND BENELUX

* Banque Degroof Petercam SA has imposed strict anti-money laundering controls on all cash movements of over €100,000, resulting in a slowdown in the processing of transactions, L'Echo wrote.

* Dutch ING Groep NV will cut 35 jobs at its market division, Het Financieele Dagblad reported. The department suffered a loss of €42 million in the last six months.

SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

* Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA issued $1 billion in contingent convertible preferred securities with a coupon of 7%, Expansión reported.

ITALY AND GREECE

* Italy's political crisis edged closer to a resolution as the anti-establishment Five Star Movement reached a deal with the opposition Democratic Party to form an alternative coalition government to be led by Giuseppe Conte, averting the risk of snap elections for now.

* Italy's Economy Ministry is preparing to respond to a request for further information on the planned rescue of Banca Carige SpA from the European Commission, according to MF, explaining that the EU wants to verify that the deal involving interbank deposit protection fund FITD does not constitute illegal state aid.

* UniCredit SpA is weighing options for its holding in Turkish lender Yapı ve Kredi Bankası AŞ in a move that will allow a potential stake sale or reduction, sources told Bloomberg. The Italian lender is in talks with Turkish partner Koc Holding about exiting their joint venture, Koç Finansal Hizmetler AŞ, which holds nearly 82% of Yapi Kredi, as it seeks to take direct control of its 41% stake.

* BPER Banca SpA and Banca Popolare di Sondrio SCpA have concluded a review of strategic options for asset management group Arca Holding, in which they jointly own 93%, MF wrote. BPER CEO Alessandro Vandelli and Popolare di Sondrio General Manager Mario Pedranzini will meet in September to discuss which option to pursue.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Swedbank AB (publ) appointed Jens Henriksson as its new president and CEO, replacing Anders Karlsson, who has been acting CEO since March.

* EQT Partners AB aims to launch a €1 billion Stockholm IPO in the coming days that could value the Swedish private equity firm at approximately €4 billion, insiders told Reuters. The buyout firm is reportedly looking to price the IPO by September-end, before the Brexit deadline.

* Sbanken ASA CEO Magnar Øyhovden has resigned. He will be replaced by Øyvind Thomassen.

* The Danish business association for banks, Finans Danmark, has proposed confidential cooperation between banks and authorities, where information can be shared to reveal potential money laundering, Berlingske Business reported. At present, banks cannot share with peers information about customers who have committed financial crimes.

* Iceland's central bank lowered the rate on seven-day term deposits by 25 basis points to 3.50% and warned of a weaker outlook for 2020.

EASTERN EUROPE

* Russian lender AO Gazprombank confirmed it transferred its stake in JSCB Evrofinance-Mosnarbank Bank JSC, which was sanctioned by the U.S. in March over its dealings with a Venezuelan state oil firm, Reuters wrote.

* Bulgaria's Commission for Personal Data Protection fined local lender DSK Bank, a unit of Hungary-based OTP Bank Nyrt., one million Bulgarian levs for a data breach that impacted 33,000 clients, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the authority.

* Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali said the country has extended the deadline for interested parties to submit nonbinding bids for the acquisition of Komercijalna banka a.d. Beograd to Sept. 6, SEENews wrote.

* A Swedish arbitration court has prohibited Ukrainian authorities from selling shares in PSC Prominvestbank, the Ukraine-based unit of Russia's State Development Corp. VEB.RF, Reuters wrote.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: China Construction Bank H1 profit up 4.87% YOY; Shinhan Card issues ESG bonds

Middle East & Africa: Tadawul's full inclusion on MSCI emerging markets index; Israel holds rate

Latin America: Brazil's BMG considering IPO; Scotiabank Chile's H1 profit up 111%

North America: 2 US banks to add Japan-focused staff; Wells Fargo fined; Nebraska CUs in deal

Global Insurance: Dorian approaches Puerto Rico; insurtech funding; Purdue Pharma settlement offer

NOW FEATURED ON S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE

British banks ready for Brexit but face profitability squeeze, says S&P Ratings: On the day that the U.K. government took steps to limit Parliament's ability to stop a no-deal exit from the bloc, the ratings agency warned that a disruptive departure from the EU would affect bank earnings.

Delay in MiFID II research rules implementation disadvantages US fund investors: A proposal to extend an existing exemption of domestic brokers from certain research payment obligations under the EU's MiFID II framework will keep U.S. institutional investors at a disadvantage to European peers, according to experts.

Deza Mones, Arno Maierbrugger, Meike Wijers, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Heather O'Brian, Brian McCulloch, Praxilla Trabattoni and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.

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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.