* Argentina's Senate approvedthe country's debt agreement with holdout creditors, signaling an end to a long-runninglegal conflict that had isolated the country from international credit markets,Reuters reported. Argentina must pay $4.65 billion to the main creditorscovered in the agreement by April 14.

MEXICO ANDCENTRAL AMERICA

* is seeking to raise 1 billion Mexican pesos througha bond issuancedenominated in pesos or its equivalent in investment units, El Economista reported.

* Overall loangrowth in Mexico's banking system slowedto 13.7% in January from 14.6% in the previous month, BNamericas reported,citing Deutsche BankAG. The report noted that the figures could be understated sincesome companies did not comply with regulatory reporting requirements.

* Standard &Poor's Ratings Services raised its global scale ratings on to BB from BB- and its long-term national scalecounterparty credit ratings to mxA from mxBBB+. The upgrade reflects thelender's improved risk-adjusted capitalization, which S&P now projects tobe 7.5% on average for the next two years.

* 's recentlyannounced acquisitionof Marina Capital will not materially affect the bank's good financial profileand is not expected to have rating implications, Fitch Ratings said. MarinaCapital is a Mexican company that operates as a private investment fund ininternational markets.

* In the fourthquarter of 2015, the 37 commercial banks operating in Mexico had an averageliquidity coverage ratioof 325.26%, above the minimum regulatory requirement, El Financiero reported, citing Mexican banking and securitiescommission CNBV.

* Since itsinception in 1994, the NorthAmerican Development Bank has financed218 projects in the border region between the U.S. and Mexico for a totalamount of $2.60 billion, El Economistareported.

* Mexicandevelopment bank Banco del AhorroNacional y Servicios Financieros SNC saw its balance of coredeposits fall to about 13.88 billion Mexican pesos at the end of 2015 from15.36 billion pesos a year earlier, ElEconomista reported, citing data from banking and securities commissionCNBV.

* Mexican banksthat want to use a new interbank payment system called SPID will have toimplement a client identificationsystem to prevent illegal transactions, ElEconomista reported. The SPID, which will allow companies to have U.S.dollar accounts in Mexico, will become operational in April.

BRAZIL

* EmbattledBrazilian President Dilma Rousseff discussed important government positionswith her remaining allies in an effort to keep her governing coalitionintact, Reuters reported, citing presidential aides. The Brazilian DemocraticMovement Party split with the coalition on March 29, while the ProgressiveParty has scheduled a meeting in April to decide whether it will abandon thecoalition too.

* United NationsSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Brazil's government to find a solutionto the country's political crisis, OEstado de S. Paulo reported. "For now, this is a domestic politicalproblem," the diplomat said. "But Brazil is a very important country andany political instability in Brazil is a social concern for us."

* Standard &Poor's Rating Services placed its BB/B global scale and brA+/brA-1 nationalscale ratings on Banco VotorantimSA on CreditWatch negative. The placement follows a similar actionon the bank's shareholder, the Votorantim group.

* Brazil's SupremeCourt unanimously ruled that it is constitutional for the government to chargebanks an additional social contribution taxof 2.5% of their total payroll, Folha deS.Paulo reported.

ANDEAN

* maintained its leadership positionin Peru's life and nonlife insurance segments in February, BNamericas reported. The company had a 24.0% market shares ofpremiums in the life segment and 36.3% in the nonlife segment.

* posted a netprofit of 2.29 trillion Colombian pesos for full-year 2015, up 18.2% from ayear earlier, Portafolio reported.The bank's shareholders approved a dividend payment of 230 pesos per share. CEOAlejandro Figueroa told La Repúblicathat the bank does not currently have any plans to expand its internationalpresence, and will instead focus on consolidatingits existing operations.

SOUTHERN CONE

* The Chilean government announced an economic with 22 initiativesaimed at improving the country's productivity and expanding credit access by upto $8 billion, Pulso reported, citingFinance Minister Rodrigo Valdés. The stimulus package revolves around concernsthat the local economy's growth "has been very disappointing in recentyears and months," Valdés said.

* The Chilean government's financial analysis unit, or UAF, said thetotal number of transactions suspectedof money laundering and terrorism financing in Chile increased to 3,150 in 2015from 2,175 in the previous year, DiarioFinanciero reported.

* U.S. dollar deposits in Argentina's banking system have increasedby $3 billion since mid-December 2015 when the government lifted foreignexchange controls, Cronista reported,citing data from Banco Central dela República Argentina. Total dollar deposits currently stand atnearly $12 billion.

* Banco Central deChile Vice President Sebastián Claro said business confidencelevels in Chile are low due to both internal and external uncertainty, Pulso reported. As a result, the countryhas seen a decline in investment and consumption.

* Argentina is not prepared for the influx of capitalit is likely to see as a result of President Mauricio Macri's policies toliberalize the economy, Cronistacited analysts as saying. Argentina's capital market lacks high-end technology,some analysts said, while others argued that the country should unify its stockexchanges.

* Argentine diversified business conglomerate Grupo Indalo has accusedthe government of harassingthe company through tax claims in order to force it to sell its businesses, El Economista reported. According toearlier reports, the government plans to seize the assets of businessmanCristóbal López, who owns Indalo, to recoup 8 billion Argentine pesos worth ofdebt allegedly owed to tax authority AFIP.

* Chilean brokerage firm LarrainVial SA reached a settlementwith pension fund administrators Capital, Habitat and Cuprum to resolve marketmanipulation charges in the Cascadas case, DiarioFinanciero reported. Under the deal, LarrainVial will pay a total of about$2.2 million to the three firms.

PAN LATIN AMERICA

* Swiss ReLtd.'s latest sigma study revealed that global from natural catastrophesand man-made disasters in 2015 totaled $37 billion, well below the $62 billionaverage of the previous 10 years. Total economic losses from all disasters,including both natural and man-made events, were $92 billion in 2015.

IN OTHER PARTSOF THE WORLD

* RelianceCapital Ltd. said Nippon Life Insurance Co. completed its acquisition of an additional 23% stake in Reliance LifeInsurance Co. Ltd. Nippon Life Insurance now holds a 49% stake in Reliance LifeInsurance. The entire transaction amounted to 22.65 billion Indian rupees.

* South Korea's NongHyupFinancial Group Inc. said it is actively eyeing global expansion,with a focus on Southeast Asia and China under Chairman Kim Yong-hwan, The Korea Herald reported, citing the bank'sofficials. Kim said the company decided to focus on regions where agriculturalfinance has more potential, the officials said.

* The Reserve Bankof India has allowed all companies engaged in the infrastructure sector,including regulated nonbanking finance companies, to raiseexternal commercial borrowings with a minimum maturity of five years, India's Business Standard reported, citing thecentral bank.

* ECB ExecutiveBoard Member Benoît Cœuré said the concept of "helicopter money" isnot currently part of discussionsin the ECB Governing Council and expressed skepticism and circumspection aboutthe idea. Cœuré said: "To be honest, I don't see how it could work withoutsome kind of risk-sharing with governments, which could be practically andlegally problematic."

* is looking to a €4.5 billion portfolio oflife insurance policies in Italy and has picked Goldman Sachs to run the saleof the closed life policies, Reuters writes.

S&P Ratings and Global MarketIntelligence are owned by McGraw Hill Financial Inc.

Paula Mejiacontributed to this article.

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