MIDDLE EAST AND NORTHAFRICA
Credit Suisse wantsfull banking license in Saudi Arabia: Credit Suisse Group AG, which already has a securitiesand equities business in Saudi Arabia, is in talks to obtain a full banking license in the kingdom.Iqbal Khan, head of the bank's international wealth management business inLatin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the Swiss lender hired45 relationship managers across the Middle East in 2015.
* Saudi banks allowed government employees affected byrecent austerity measures to delay payments of their loans, Al-Yaum writes.
* Saudi Arabia's central bank wants to slash motor insurancepremium and put in place more stringent conditions to protect clients, Al-Watan writes.
* The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates warned localbanks about an eventual cyberattack named "Folding Elephant" andconducted by a group called "The Hanover," Al Khaleej reports.
* Dubai Investment appointedRashed Abdullah Al-Haji director general of its real estate arm.
* Bank DhofarSAOG's rights issue shares will be temporarily listedfor trading from Oct. 4 to Oct. 16.
* Qatari private investment firm Al Faisal Holding willacquire Portugal-based BANIF -Banco de Investimento SA's 78.5% stake in unit , MaltaToday reports,citing Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Al Faisal Chairman Faisal BinQassim al-Thani. The remaining 21.52% stake in the Maltese lender are heldequally by four Maltese shareholders.
* Iranian lenders kicked off a cooperation with theirJapanese counterparts, PressTV reports,citing Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines Deputy Chairman PedramSultani.
* ChinaConstruction Bank Corp.'s Hong Kong branch listed $600 million of bonds on Nasdaq Dubai. Followingthe listing, the total value of conventional bonds listed on Nasdaq Dubaiincreased to $11.39 billion.
* The IMF will discuss Egypt's $12 billion loan program at afuture executive board meeting and not at its annual meeting this week, as thelatter is not intended for executive board members, Egyptian Deputy FinanceMinister Mohamed Meait tellsReuters.
* The European Investment Bank plans to make to loanstotaling €170 million to BanqueMarocaine du Commerce Exterieur, Financial Afrik reports.Of the total, €150 million will be used to support small and medium-sizedenterprises by improving their access to bank finance.
EAST AND WEST AFRICA
Fidelity Bank Ghanahints at IPO timetable: Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd. aims to list on the Ghana StockExchange within the next two to five years, Jim Baiden, the lender's managingdirector, tellsCiti Business News. The bank's board approved the IPO plan but work on thelisting has yet to begin.
* Gerald Nyaoma, the Central Bank of Kenya's director ofbank supervision, issued a notice ordering lenders to revoke any additionalfees on loans and stop reclassifying products to circumvent the law cappinginterest rates, Standard Digital reports.
* SBM Bank(Mauritius) Ltd. is launching operations in the Seychelles, whereit recently obtained a license, Agence Ecofin says.The bank is also setting up a private equity fund to invest in Africa.
* I&M Bank(T) Ltd. CEO Baseer Mohammed said the bank aims to raise the numberof its depositors to 10,000 by 2016-end from the current 9,000, The Citizen reports.
* Nigerian lenders' bad loans ratio rose to 11.7% atJune-end, more than twice the less than 5% limit set by the central bank, from5.3% at 2015-end, as the banking sector struggles amid a recession, BloombergNews says,citing a report by the central bank. The central bank said it will continue tofocus on maintaining price and financial system stability.
* Meanwhile, Nigeria's oil and gas exposures compriseapproximately 40% of the banking sector's loan portfolio, ThisDay reports,citing central bank Deputy Governor Sarah Alade. Obligors are now having a hardtime meeting repayment obligations as oil has dropped to about $40 per barrel,compared to a price of $140 per barrel when these loans were booked.
* The Central Bank of Nigeria expects foreign exchangemarket liquidity in the country to remain "challenging" in the secondhalf as low oil prices persist, potentially raising credit risks for banks astheir asset quality declines, Reuters writes.The central bank, however, noted that the current measures put in place areanticipated to minimize the impact of shocks to the local economy.
* EcobankTransnational Inc. appointed Edward George head of the U.K., accordingto Global Trade Review. George will retain his responsibilities as head ofgroup research, a post he has held since 2014.
* Ivory Coast, which recently held an IPO of its stake inSociété Ivoirienne de BanqueSA, is also considering selling some or all of its shares inNSIA Banque, VersusBank and Banque de l'habitat de Côte d'ivoire, Agence Ecofin reports.
* Banque Atlantique, which is run by Atlantic BusinessInternational, a part of Morocco's Banque Centrale Populaire, is expanding into GuineaBissau, Financial Afrik says.
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERNAFRICA
FirstRand eyesM&A: FirstRandLtd. Chairman Laurie Dippenaar said the bank is looking atacquisitions in African nations, including Nigeria, as asset prices in theseareas "have recently become much more realistic," Bloomberg News writes.The bank has also shown interest in venturing into Kenya. "We feel morecomfortable to look for opportunities to deploy shareholder capital foracquisitions to assist us in scaling up our operations," Dippenaar said.Agence Ecofin has a report.
* South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago tellsBloomberg News that the rand is experiencing "undervaluation" andcurrency moves since December 2015 are due to "idiosyncraticfactors," including political noise. The rand plummeted in Augustfollowing reports that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was summoned by policefor investigation.
* Net 1 UEPSTechnologies Inc. agreed to subscribe for about 117.9 million shares in Blue LabelTelecoms Ltd., at a price of 16.96 rand per share. The aggregate subscriptionconsideration payable by Net1 is 2.0 billion rand. Following implementation ofthe subscription, Net1 will own about 15% of the issued ordinary shares of BlueLabel.
* The National Bank of Angola maintained its benchmarkinterest rate at 16%, saying inflation has slowed due to an increase in thesupply of goods and services, and curtailed demand, Reuters notes.
* Angolan central bank Governor Valter Filipe said Portugaland South Africa will provide Angola technical assistance to align its bankingsupervision system with theirs, Jornal deNegócios writes.
* Angola's central bank wants to create closer ties withinternational financing institutions such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, theEuropean Central Bank and the Bank of England, Jornal de Angola reports.
* Zimbabwe is in liquidity crisis, with the central bankalmost out of U.S. dollars since May, Radio France Internationale reports.
* BankWindhoek Ltd. warned its clients of fraudsters falsifying bankstatements to steal credit or money from micro lenders, New Era writes,citing Johnny Truter, the bank's manager of forensic services.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THEWORLD
Asia-Pacific: Chinese firms to acquire Singapore reinsurer; Switzerland asksMalaysia for legal help on 1MDB probe
Europe: Bradford & Bingley loan sale resumed; Bankia-BMN merger likelyin 2017
Latin America: Itaú, Citi said to near deal; name change for Banco Nacional deMéxico
North America: Regulators release updated versions of living wills by 8 largebanks; CFPB issues new prepaid card rules
North America Insurance: Japan's Sompo to buy Endurance; Markel/Allied World deal talks fail
Sheryl Obejera, HenniAbdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.
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