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☆ Goldman says these global stocks are set to soar on share buybacks — giving one over 100% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Amala Balakrishner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Analysts from Goldman Sachs named the European stocks they predict will announce significant buybacks until 2024 — which they say will present substantial upside to their share prices. Stocks with massive upside potential On its list of "companies forecast to execute buybacks over 2022-24," Goldman Sachs included financial players NatWest Group , Lloyds Banking Group , Barclays and BAWAG Group . NatWest Group is expected to have a share reduction of 18% between 2022 and 2024. Barclays — which is penciled to have a share reduction of 11% between 2022 and 2024 — was also rated a buy. The company is looking at a 12% share reduction over the next two years.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Buybacks, —, Goldman, Prosus, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Companies, NatWest Group, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, BAWAG Group, BAWAG, Media Locations: Europe, United States

☆ Twenty years after euro "No" vote, Swedes fret over weak crown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Simon Johnson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Think Sweden, where a nosedive in the local crown currency over the past 18 months is proving a blessing for used-car dealers and other exporters. Companies like KP Energy, which imports solar panels to sell to trade buyers, cite the damaging effects of higher purchase costs and rising interest rates, which hit household spending. "It impacts us a huge amount when the crown weakens against the euro and when the demand picture changes," its CEO Filip Wiqvist said. A Demoskop poll this week showed 42% would vote "No" to joining the euro, while 34% would support it. Believing the crown is around 20% undervalued, the Riksbank has hedged its own foreign currency exposure in anticipation of future strengthening.

Persons: Joachim Agren, Registradores, Espania, Filip Wiqvist, Wiqvist, Jan Soderstrom, Annika Winsth, SEB, Robert Bergqvist, Martin Floden, Floden, Catherine Evans Organizations: STOCKHOLM, BCA, Reuters, Companies, KP Energy, European Union, Technologies, KPMG, European, NATO, Thomson Locations: Stockholm, Sweden, Swedish, Spain, EU, Ukraine, Turkey

For months now, inflation has been steadily trending down to a 3% level after hitting 9% last summer. That will likely bring the annual rate to 3.6%. The Fed actually pays attention to a less well-known inflation metric and tends to focus on core inflation minus housing and those numbers are improving. We look for the monthly pace of core inflation to rebound to 0.2%-0.3% in Q4 and keep the annual rate closer to 4% than 3% through year end. The annual rate of headline CPI is also likely to remain stuck just above 3% through the end of 2023.

Persons: ”, Sam Bullard, Wells, ” Bullard, Janet Yellen Organizations: CPI, White, Fed, PPI Locations: India, U.S

☆ UK house prices fall by most since 2009 as rate rises bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Halifax said house prices were 4.6% lower last month than in August 2022, when they were close to their peak. "House prices have proven more resilient than expected so far this year.... The Bank of England has raised interest rates 14 times since December 2021, taking rates to 5.25% in August. Rival mortgage lender Nationwide reported last week that house prices in August were 5.3% lower than a year earlier. Imogen Pattison, assistant economist at Capital Economics, said the bigger-than-expected fall in Halifax house prices supported the consultancy's forecast that house prices would drop a total of 10.5% by mid 2024.

Persons: Phil Noble, Halifax, Kim Kinnaird, Andrew Bailey, Imogen Pattison, David Milliken, Paul Sandle, Emelia Organizations: REUTERS, Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of England, Nationwide, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain, Halifax

☆ Australia Aug ANZ-Indeed jobs ads jump most in over an year
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A pedestrian is reflected in the window of a branch of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in central Sydney, Australia, October 25, 2017. Picture taken October 25, 2017. Data from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) and employment website Indeed showed job ads rose 1.9% in August from July, the biggest increase since June 2022. Ads were, however, down 7.7% year-on-year earlier, but remained 52.2% above pre-pandemic levels. Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Steven Saphore, Stella Qiu, Kim Coghill Organizations: New Zealand Banking Group, ANZ, REUTERS, Rights, New Zealand Banking, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney

☆ UK's Lloyds in talks with Barclay family, Carlyle over Very Group - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 1 (Reuters) - Britain's Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) is in talks with the Barclay family and U.S. private equity firm Carlyle (CG.O) over Very Group, an online retailer and financial services provider, the Financial Times reported on Friday. "The Very Group continues to perform well and is operating as normal with robust liquidity," a Very Group spokesperson said in an e-mail. Lloyds and Carlyle did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The Barclay family could not be immediately reached. Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Saikeerthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Barclay, Carlyle, Pushkala Aripaka, Shailesh Kuber, Maju Samuel Organizations: Lloyds Bank, REUTERS, Lloyds Banking Group, Financial Times, Telegraph, Lloyds, Thomson Locations: Saikeerthi, Bengaluru

☆ Indonesia is moving its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara. Here's why it won't be so easy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Adek Berry | Afp | Getty ImagesIndonesia has ambitious plans to relocate its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara in East Kalimantan. Nusantara National Capital Authority, a government agency charged with planning and constructing the new capital, did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The new Presidential Palace under construction at the country's new capital Nusantara. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA lack of demand for service-led jobs is another challenge Archer predicted. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Persons: Adek Berry, Joko Widodo's, Melinda Martinus, Martinus, Ju Ye Lee, Bagus Saragih, Agung Wicaksono, it's, Wicaksono, Bruno Lanvin, Joko Widodo, Diane Archer, Archer, Lanvin, Maybank's Lee Organizations: Nusantara, Afp, Getty, Indonesia, Cultural Affairs, Yusof, CNBC, Nusantara National Capital Authority, country's Ministry, Public, Agung Wicaksono Nusantara National Capital Authority, Maybank Investment Banking Group, Smart, IMD Business School, Bloomberg, Ciputra, Stockholm Environment Institute, Nusantara . Bloomberg Locations: Jakarta, Nusantara, East Kalimantan, Indonesian, Indonesia, Singapore, Agung Wicaksono, Asia, Pacific, Nusantara ., Stockholm, Diane Archer Stockholm, Kalimantan

☆ Australia's ANZ Group and Suncorp seek review of $3.2 bln deal block
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A pedestrian is reflected in the window of a branch of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in central Sydney, Australia, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 25 (Reuters) - ANZ Group (ANZ.AX) and Suncorp Group (SUN.AX) said on Friday that they have filed separate applications to seek a tribunal review after Australia's competition regulator recently blocked ANZ's $3.2 billion buyout of Suncorp's banking arm. read moreBoth companies reaffirmed their mid-2024 target to execute the deal after the application to the Australian Competition Tribunal, an independent body that reviews ACCC decisions. ACCC acknowledged the companies' move, but declined to comment further. Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Steven Saphore, John Biju, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: New Zealand Banking Group, ANZ, REUTERS, Suncorp Group, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Australian Competition Tribunal, ACCC, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ Australia's ANZ Group and Suncorp seek review of $3.2 billion deal block
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 25 (Reuters) - Barclays Plc (BARC.L) has hired Emma Taylor, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) technology banker, as global head of internet investment banking, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Taylor, a 20-year investment banking veteran, will be based in New York and report to Barclays global head of technology investment banking Kristin Roth DeClark, according to the memo, which was confirmed by a Barclays spokesperson. Taylor and Chan will join three other managing directors at Barclays who cover internet investment banking out of the United States and two managing directors who focus on the internet out of Europe. Last week, Barclays announced it had hired Lee Counselman from Moelis & Co (MC.N) as a managing director in its technology investment banking group focused on software transactions. She previously spent five years at Goldman Sachs, where she worked alongside Taylor on the internet team as head of global e-commerce coverage.

Persons: Emma Taylor, Taylor, Kristin Roth DeClark, Carmen Chan, Chan, Lee Counselman, Goldman Sachs, Milana Vinn, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Barclays Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Reuters, Barclays, Thomson Locations: New York, United States, Europe, Moelis

People walk beneath a Citibank branch logo in the financial district of San Francisco, California July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Banking group Citibank (C.N) was subpoenaed on Thursday by Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan for a congressional probe into alleged data sharing by banks with the FBI. Panels in the Republican-led chamber are probing major banks over sharing Americans' private financial data with the FBI without legal process for transactions made in the Washington, D.C., area around Jan. 6, 2021, Jordan said in a statement on Thursday. The House Judiciary panel said it wrote to Citibank in June requesting "voluntary cooperation to determine the extent to which banks illegally supplied the FBI with Americans' financial data." Congress eventually certified the election results even as Trump continued repeating his false assertion that he won those elections.

Persons: Robert Galbraith, Jim Jordan, Jordan, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Kanishka Singh, Jasper Ward, Chris Reese Organizations: Citibank, REUTERS, Rights, Banking, Republican, House, FBI, D.C, U.S, Capitol, Democrat, Republicans, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, Washington

☆ ANZ Group reports higher late mortgage payments in stiff market
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A pedestrian is reflected in the window of a branch of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in central Sydney, Australia, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore/File Photo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Reports rise in customer depositsMarginal increase in gross impaired assetsAug 17 (Reuters) - ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) said on Thursday late mortgage repayments past 90 days edged higher in the June quarter but were still below historic levels while logging higher customer deposits in a stiff market. The country's fourth-largest bank is still dealing with rising financial stress among mortgage customers as higher cash interest rates put pressure on its margins. "Liability portfolio mix continued a shift towards higher interest rate, lower margin, savings accounts and term deposits," ANZ said in a statement. ANZ recorded a continued growth in retail and institutional customer deposits while flagging a marginal rise in its gross impaired assets.

Persons: Steven Saphore, Rishav Chatterjee, Nausheen, Shilpi Majumdar, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: New Zealand Banking Group, ANZ, REUTERS, ANZ Group Holdings, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ Barclays names the global stocks benefitting from falling inflation — and gives two 60% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Barclays identified several European stocks that it says could benefit from an environment of falling inflation. As interest rates remain elevated, inflation is expected to fall further toward the European Central Bank's 2% target in the coming months. The below table highlights 10 "disinflation winners" from Barclays with the biggest upside: Delivery Hero Among the stocks highlighted, shares of food delivery company Delivery Hero had the biggest upside potential. Lloyds Banking Group Barclays expects shares of U.K.-based lender Lloyds Banking Group to rise 64% over the next 12 months to £0.70 ($0.89). Together with falling provision risks we expect higher profits to drive outsized capital returns," said Barclays' analysts led by Aman Rakka in a note to clients on July 27.

Persons: Emmanuel Cau, Andrew Ross, Aman Rakka, Larissa van Deventer Organizations: Barclays, Central, Lloyds Banking Group Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyds, Legal, General Barclays Locations: U.S

☆ Colombian Banking Group Strikes $80 Million Settlement Over Highway Bribery Scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Dylan Tokar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Stingy UK bank saving rates may become a non-issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Banks are keeping the fruits of higher interest rates for themselves. Between January 2022 and May 2023, the Bank of England hiked rates by 4.25 percentage points. The nine largest UK banks boosted the interest on easy-access savings accounts by 1.18 percentage points, the FCA found. The upshot is that they’ll have to bid more aggressively for funding in the future, for example by raising interest rates on savings accounts. Second-quarter results suggest it too is paying more for funding: interest expense almost doubled between the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023.

Persons: juicier, BoE, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Authority, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of, FCA, Monday, Reuters Graphics Reuters, NatWest, Barclays ’, Lloyds, Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, European Central Bank, Bank of England, ECB, Spanish, Financial, HSBC, Santander UK, Nationwide Building Society, TSB Bank, Virgin Money, Bank, Thomson Locations: Britain, Spain, Bank of England, Italy, Hungary

☆ Australia ANZ-Indeed jobs ads edge 0.4% higher in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A pedestrian is reflected in the window of a branch of the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in central Sydney, Australia, October 25, 2017. Data from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) and employment website Indeed showed job ads rose 0.4% in July from June, when they fell 2.7%. "There are other signs labour market momentum is starting to slow as the RBA’s 400bp of hikes flow through to economic activity... this suggests we'll see a gradual cooling of the labour market from its very strong starting position." Markets suspect the cash rate is nearing its peak, with futures pricing in an even chance of a further rate hike to 4.35% in December. A majority of economists polled by Reuters expect the RBA could deliver the last hike in the fourth quarter.

Persons: Steven Saphore, Stella Qiu, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: New Zealand Banking Group, ANZ, REUTERS, New Zealand Banking, Reserve Bank of Australia, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney

The National Bank of Canada logo is seen outside of a branch in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 14, 2019. National Bank said in a statement it will acquire the C$1 billion ($752 million) loan portfolio made up of technology, life science and global fund banking sectors. National Bank already has made a number of bets in the tech space in Canada investing in fintech firms such as KOHO, Synctera and Flinks over the years. Veritas Investment Research analyst Nigel D'Souza said the deal does not restrict National Bank from acquiring Laurentian Bank (LB.TO), but that deal was now less likely. "We continue to view National Bank as the best fit among the Big Six banks for Laurentian," D'Souza said.

Persons: Chris Wattie, Michael Denham, Denham, Tuyen Vo, Nigel D'Souza, D'Souza, Jaiveer Singh, Will Dunham, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: National Bank of Canada, REUTERS, National Bank, National Bank's Technology, Innovation Banking, Bank, Veritas Investment Research, Laurentian Bank, Big, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, U.S, Silicon, Bengaluru

☆ Government’s NatWest meddling crosses risky line
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Meddling ministers crossed a line, and may struggle to retreat back onto the right side of it. Its shares fell a modest 3% on Wednesday morning – compared with 1% on average for Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), Barclays (BARC.L) and Virgin Money UK (VMUK.L). Rose’s strategy of cutting costs, continuing to scale back risky trading and focusing on core UK retail banking was working. Britain’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, that “it is right that the NatWest CEO has resigned”. Domestic rivals Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays and Virgin Money UK were down 2% on average.

Persons: Alison Rose, Rose, Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, Nigel Farage, Andrew Griffith, Coutts, aren’t, Nigel Farage's, Paul Thwaite, George Hay, Pranav Kiran, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Economic, NatWest, BBC, Royal Bank of Scotland’s, UK Government Investments, . Mortgage, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Virgin Money, Lloyds, Domestic, Thomson Locations: NatWest’s

NatWest lifer Rose climbed up the ranks over more than three decades from graduate trainee to boardroom, becoming the first woman to run one of Britain's major banks. "You can be a hero one day, a zero the next, as Alison Rose has found out." Davies lamented the "sad moment" while Rose paid tribute to colleagues who had helped her build solid foundations for the bank, in a statement accompanying the news. RBS TO NATWESTRose succeeded Ross McEwan as CEO of NatWest in 2019, becoming the lender's first female boss. But under Rose's supervision, the bank became one of Britain's biggest participants in government-designed loan schemes to keep ailing businesses afloat.

Persons: Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, NatWest lifer Rose, Coutts, Rishi Sunak, Rupert Younger, Rose, Howard Davies, Rose's, Davies, Charlie Nunn, Farage, impinging, NATWEST Rose, Ross McEwan, McEwan, Stephen Hester, Fred Goodwin, Lawrence White, Conor Humphries Organizations: NatWest's, Brexit Party, NatWest, Oxford University's, Lloyds Banking Group, Britain's, RBS, NATWEST, Royal Bank of Scotland, Thomson Locations: Europe, Westminster, Britain

☆ UK's FTSE 100 slips on dour earnings; NatWest falls
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) lost 0.2%, while the more domestically focussed FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) was flat. UK earnings season picked up pace with Lloyds Banking Group(LLOY.L), Britain's biggest mortgage lender, posting a pre-tax first-half profit below analysts' forecast compiled by the bank. The lender fell 2.7%, while the UK banks index (.FTNMX301010) slipped 0.9%. Rolls-Royce (RR.L) soared 19.3%, to hit its highest level in over three years after the aero-engineering company raised its full-year operating profit forecast. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng and Sohini GoswamiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Royce, Aston Martin, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Georgina Cooper, Aston, Shashwat Chauhan, Eileen Soreng, Sohini Organizations: HY, U.S, Fed, Lloyds, NatWest, NatWest Group, BBC, Lloyds Banking Group, BNY, Equity, Rio Tinto, Royce, Dunhill, Tobacco, Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings, U.S . Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Rio Tinto, London, Rio, Bengaluru

LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) reported a higher charge for troubled loans and missed first-half profit expectations as Britain's economic chills weighed on its finances and upped pressure on management to do more to help struggling savers. Lloyds shares fell 5% in early trading against a flat FTSE 100 index (.FTSE). Lloyds shares fell 5% in early trading on Wednesday, against a flat FTSE 100 index (.FTSE). The bank said it expected this to fall more slowly than previously forecast, dipping to 3.10% this year instead of 3.05%. ($1 = 0.7754 pounds)Reporting by Iain Withers and Lawrence White; editing by Sinead Cruise and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Zoe Gillespie, we’ve, Fran Boait, Charlie Nunn, Nunn, Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, Coutts, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Sinead Cruise, Jason Neely Organizations: Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyds, . Banking, JPMorgan, Bank of, RBC Brewin Dolphin, NatWest, Thomson

Higher interest rates helped UniCredit (CRDI.MI) strongly beat earnings expectations in the second quarter. Germany's financial regulator BaFin has been calling on banks to raise the amount of money they set aside for bad loans. Deutsche Bank on Wednesday said provisions for bad loans nearly doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier to 401 million euros. Santander's financial chief said bad loans in Brazil may have already peaked. This sent the bank's shares up around 2% on Wednesday, with Jefferies saying that it sees upside potential to net interest income.

Persons: Ralph Orlowski, Lloyd's, Andrea Orcel, BaFin, James von Moltke, UniCredit, Jefferies, Tom Sims, Jane Merriman Organizations: Germany's Deutsche Bank, REUTERS, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyds, JPMorgan, Monetary Fund, European Central Bank, Union, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, MILAN, MADRID, Europe, Spain, Santander, Brazil

☆ ECB to ask banks to provide weekly liquidity data to monitor their health, supervisory chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, July 22 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank (ECB) will ask banks to provide weekly liquidity data from September so that it can carry out more frequent checks on their ability to ward off potential shocks as interest rates rise, the ECB supervisory chief said on Saturday. In an interview published by Milano Finanza, Andrea Enria said that European banks were stronger than before but that financial markets were still in a "delicate phase" due to the Ukrainian war, higher inflation and fast-rising interest rates. All these factors can increase liquidity and funding risks, Enria said, adding that the ECB would be very focused on this in the stress tests and other supervisory processes underway. "We have decided to send banks, starting in September, a request for information on a weekly basis, in order to have fresher data that will allow us to better monitor liquidity developments," Enria said. Currently banks are required to provide liquidity information to the ECB on a monthly basis.

Persons: Milano Finanza, Andrea Enria, Enria, Intesa, Francesca Landini, Clelia Organizations: MILAN, European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: Italy

☆ ECB to ask banks to provide weekly liquidity data to monitor their health - Enria
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Persons: Milano Finanza, Andrea Enria, Enria, Intesa, Francesca Landini, Clelia Organizations: MILAN, European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: Italy

TUA Assicurazioni, a non-life company founded in 2003, is valued at around 300 million euros ($335 million), according to the sources. Two sources mentioned German insurance heavyweight Allianz (ALVG.DE), fellow German insurer Talanx (TLXGn.DE) and France's Groupama as potential bidders. One of them also named Italy's Itas as one of up to five parties that could bid in the second round. Talanx has expressed interest in ICCREA's non-life business and is competing with Swiss Helvetia Group (HELN.S), Groupama and Italian cooperative insurer Assimoco. ($1 = 0.8946 euros)Additional reporting by Gianluca Semarero in Milan, writing by Keith Weir Editing by Keith Weir and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: TUA, TUA Assicurazioni, Italy's, ICCREA, Talanx, Rothschild, Mediobanca, Groupama, Gianluca Semarero, Keith Weir, Louise Heavens Organizations: Generali, Cattolica, Allianz, Swiss Helvetia Group, Itas, Thomson Locations: MILAN, Generali, Mediobanca, Talanx, Milan

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