Homebuyers have filed more than 1,800 cases against builders under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) since June 2018, the government told the Lok Sabha on Monday, Business Standard reported. These are the number of cases pending before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as on September 30. Citing the information received from NCLT, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur said that a total 1,821 cases have been filed by homebuyers against builders since June 2018 under the Code.

The Reserve Bank can now seek resolution of non-banking financial companies having assets worth of at least ₹500 crore under the insolvency law, a move that is likely to help in addressing woes in the NBFC sector, Mint reported. After discussions with the central bank, the corporate affairs ministry on Monday issued a notification specifying the categories of financial service providers (FSPs) that can be taken up for resolution under the "generic framework" of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday directed the Synergy Group, the sole entity interested in the beleaguered Jet Airways, to appear before it and present a plan by December 3, The Financial Express reported. The direction came after the resolution professional (RP) for Jet Airways, Ashish Chhawchharia, told the bench that Colombia-based Synergy Group sought additional time till February to firm up its plans for Jet Airways. Cash-strapped Jet Airways has been grounded for seven months now and the airline was admitted for insolvency on June 20.

India unveiled rules to help creditors recover loans due from large shadow lenders as a prolonged upheaval in the nation’s credit markets raises the risk of defaults by the financiers, Bloomberg News reported, The amended law provides a generic framework for insolvency and liquidation proceedings of systemically-important financial services providers, other than banks, according to a government statement on Friday. The 15-month-old credit crisis has choked economic growth to its slowest pace in six years, while company defaults on rupee bonds are at a record high.

India’s central bank chief Shaktikanta Das called for stronger corporate governance at state-run lenders to make the country’s banking sector more efficient. Describing the lack of strict governance as the “elephant in the room,” Das said this had led to elevated levels of non-performing assets, capital shortfalls, fraud and inadequate risk management, Bloomberg News reported.

An attempt by lenders to get PizzaExpress Ltd. to open talks on ways to prop up the troubled restaurant chain has failed to bring its Chinese owner to the negotiating table, Bloomberg News reported. The investors, holding 70% of PizzaExpress’s most senior bonds, sent a letter to the company a week ago pledging to provide new funds, according to people familiar with the matter.

India has amended its insolvency and bankruptcy rules to allow for greater flexibility in resolving problems at troubled non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), the government said in a statement on Friday, Reuters reported. The change follows debt defaults at shadow lender Dewan Housing which owes close to 1 trillion rupees ($14 billion) to its debtors, who include banks and mutual funds. The new rules however, say insolvency proceedings against such NBFCs or financial service providers can only go ahead if the appropriate regulator requests such action.

Even as Hong Kong has reduced down-payment requirements to help young professionals and families to buy homes, banks are beefing up mortgage application standards to ensure that a recession does not saddle them with bad loans, bankers and mortgage brokers said, Reuters reported. Last month, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, struggling to restore confidence in her administration after five months of civil unrest, approved rules allowing first-time homebuyers to borrow as much as 90% of a HK$8 million ($1 million) home’s cost.

Japan Post Bank Co. said it would be cautious about future investment in bundled corporate loans after raising holdings last quarter, as financial authorities increase scrutiny of the practice, Bloomberg News reported. The postal savings giant boosted its holdings of collateralized loan obligations by 15% from June to 1.52 trillion yen ($14 billion) as of Sept. 30, an earnings presentation showed Thursday.

The Indian economy continues to slow. The monthly Index of Industrial Production fell to an eight-year low in the month of September, contracting by over 4%. According to India’s central bank, growth in bank credit to industries in the same month fell to 2.7%, the lowest in a year, a Bloomberg View reported. While the numbers for services are a little better, even they stand at a two-year low. Economists have little faith that things will turn around on their own. The government desperately needs to revive investment.