We are confronting a crisis, all right, but it is not a Greek crisis, unless uncertainty as to the date of that country's de facto default counts as a crisis, The Wall Street Journal Agenda blog reported in a commentary. If the insolvency of that tiny country were the world's only problem, it would be stretching the word "crisis" to apply it to the travails and insolvency of that tiny country. What we have come to call the Greek crisis is, first, an international banking crisis. Like Lehman Brothers, Greece is definitely not too big to fail.

Germany is king when it comes to debt and calculated based on the amount of losses compared to economic performance, Germany was the biggest debt transgressor of the 20th century, according to German economic historian, Albrecht Ritschl, Finfacts reported. Ritschl told Der Spiegel magazine that Germany was the worst debtor nation of the past century.

When the euro crisis started in Greece in October 2009, nobody had any idea how quickly or broadly it would spread -- or how difficult it would be to solve. Below, some key dates in this still-unfolding saga. October 2009 Greece revised its 2009 budget deficit to 12.5 percent of GDP from 3.7 percent. The dramatic news sparked a raft of downgrades by credit-rating agencies. By November, Greece's budget deficit had ballooned to 15.4 percent of GDP. February 2010 Greece is forced to put its budget under EU monitoring.

The High Court has disqualified former National Irish Bank chief executive Jim Lacey for nine years from involvement in the management of any company on grounds of unfitness, the Irish Times reported. Mr Lacey is also facing a substantial legal costs bill following the lengthy hearing of proceedings brought by the Director of Corporate Enforcement seeking disqualification under Section 160 of the Companies Act. Mr Justice Roderick Murphy, who last April found Mr Lacey's conduct of various aspects of the bank's affairs was "grossly negligent", today ruled the appropriate period of di

George Osborne remains open to a compromise currently being fleshed out at a high level between the Independent Commission on Banking, regulators and the UK’s biggest banks that could substantially minimise the extra costs of banking reform, IFR understands. The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer will tonight endorse ICB proposals outlined in April on how to make the country’s banking system safer, giving his support to plans to ring-fencing essential retail operations so as to protect them from a failure in other parts of the same firm. Although Osborne’s statement will surprise many, coming we

Ireland will need to do more to control its government payroll numbers and costs this year—a condition of the bailout loans it secured with the European Union and International Monetary Fund—the Irish Budget Minister said, The Wall Street Journal reported. Brendan Howlin, appointed to a new Ministry of Public Expenditure and Reform in the new Irish coalition government that took power in March, said the first review of an efficiency deal struck with public-sector unions last year showed "solid and measurable progress" in implementing savings and efficiencies of €289 million ($417.3 m

Over the years, the U.K. Parliament's Treasury Select Committee has earned itself a justified reputation for generating more heat than light. Its members have tended to grandstand for the benefit of the media rather than engage in serious scrutiny of financial policy and as a result its reports have been largely worthless. But under new chairman Andrew Tyrie, the committee is taking its task far more seriously.

In the last few days of his term, outgoing Bundesbank President Axel Weber appeared extremely satisfied with how effectively he had done his job. Looking back on seven years as head of the German central bank, he said, "we actually achieved quite a lot." Everywhere Weber goes, people rave about Germany's rapid economic recovery.

If April is the cruellest month for poets, May is the harshest one for European leaders, the Economist reported. A year ago they tore up the rule book to bail out Greece and to ward off market attacks on other fiscal reprobates in the euro area. The first anniversary of the rescue mission has been nothing to celebrate. Despite a year of grinding hardship Greece looks ever more likely to have to restructure its debts.

Appointment Under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986,an individual appointed as an insolvency office holder to the following types of appointment must be a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner (IP): • Corporate insolvency: Administration, Administrative Receivership, Provisional Liquidation, Liquidation, Company Voluntary Arrangement • Personal insolvency: Bankruptcy, Sequestration, Individual Voluntary Arrangement • Partnership insolvency: Liquidation or Administration of Insolvent Partnership, Partnership Voluntary Arrangement.