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* Banco Central de la República Argentina said it reached an agreement to obtain a one-year loan worth $5 billion from a group of global banks, Reuters reported. A source involved in the deal told the newswire that HSBC Holdings Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Banco Santander SA will provide $1 billion each, while Deutsche Bank AG, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Citibank and UBS AG will contribute $500 million each. The loan comes as Argentina prepares to submit a debt renegotiation proposal to holdout creditors.
MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
* Written premiums in Guatemala's insurance sector increased to $806.6 million in 2015 from $762.7 million in the prior year, the Inter-American Federation of Insurance Companies reported, citing preliminary data from the United Nations' regional economic commission, Cepal.
* Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico SAB de CV posted net income of 4.22 billion Mexican pesos for the fourth quarter of 2015, up 10.5% compared to the 3.82 billion pesos earned in the year-ago period. Executive President and CEO Héctor Grisi said in a statement that the bank's key profitability metrics are below desired levels, but it has identified key challenges and is taking steps to pull in new clients and raise customer loyalty.
* Grupo Financiero Banorte SAB de CV expects loan growth to reach between 12% and 14% in 2016, driven mainly by consumer lending in the credit card and payroll loans segments, COO Rafael Arana de la Garza said during an earnings conference call. Banorte expects its full-year net income for 2016 to be in the range of 18.8 billion Mexican pesos to 19.6 billion pesos, up from 17.11 billion pesos in 2015.
* Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its B+ long-term and B short-term global scale issuer credit ratings on Banco Davivienda Salvadoreno SA. S&P said it subsequently withdrew the ratings at the issuer's request.
* Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior SA said Esteban Alejandro Acerbo submitted his resignation as a class "A" director on the company's board. Acerbo's resignation was...