China, Canada and Hong Kong are among the economies most at risk of a banking crisis, according to early warning indicators compiled by the Bank for International Settlements, Bloomberg News reported. Canada -- whose economy grew last year at the fastest pace since 2011 -- was flagged thanks to its households’ maxed-out credit cards and high debt levels in the wider economy. These same issues also afflict China and Hong Kong, according to the study.

In a move aimed at providing relief to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a panel set up to look into various issues relating to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is considering allowing promoters of MSMEs to bid for their stressed assets even without clearing dues if they are not wilful defaulters, official sources told Financial Express.

New loans in China dipped last month as growth in total financing slowed, signalling a more measured increase in credit and tighter conditions for shadow financing after a record jump in new lending in January, the Financial Times reported. New renminbi loans totalled Rmb839.3bn ($132.2bn) in February, according to the People’s Bank of China - down from a record Rmb2.9tn in January, when loan officers’ annual lending quotas reset and local governments leaned on banks for loans as they awaited their own quotas for bond sales.

The government may seek to ease the ‘related party’ norms of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to ensure the law is not overly restrictive and doesn’t cut down the number of those eligible to bid for assets, effectively weakening competition and reducing the amount that banks can recoup, a senior government official told the Economic Times. The IBC was strengthened by ordinance and then by amendment to prevent promoters from regaining control of assets in insolvency proceedings unless they repaid their dues.

The Singapore Stock Exchange has asked Noble Group, the crisis-hit commodity trader, to appoint an independent adviser to review its proposed debt-for-equity swap that will see existing shareholders almost wiped out, the Financial Times reported. Under the proposed deal, about half of the company’s $3.5bn of senior debt will be swapped for equity. As a result, creditors will own around 70 per cent of the restructured company, while management will get 20 per cent. Existing shareholders will get just 10 per cent.

It’s been years coming, but the latest Chinese moves to rein in leverage mean 2018 may be the year for the country’s first bond default by a local government financing vehicle, Bloomberg News reported. The units that amassed record debt in the borrowing-and-building binge after the global financial crisis have faced increasing strains, and with their borrowing costs climbing Moody’s Investors Service and others have anticipated a default at some stage. Aberdeen Standard Investments says the groundwork is now ready for that to happen in 2018.

Tata Steel Ltd said on Wednesday it had been selected as the highest bidder to buy a controlling stake in debt-laden Bhushan Steel Ltd, ending weeks of speculation on which Indian group would clinch a deal, Reuters reported. Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group’s steel business and India’s biggest domestic steelmaker JSW Steel Ltd were the two primary industry bidders for the acquisition of Bhushan Steel.

The debt resolution of Essar Steel has turned into a full-scale corporate war between VTB Bank of Russia and LN Mittal’s ArcelorMittal, both of which have made multi-billion dollars offers for the Gujarat-based steel company, Business Standard reported. All eyes are now on the lenders’ meeting scheduled on Thursday. The lenders are expected to call for a second round of bidding. According to sources, legal advisers are not convinced about the eligibility of either bidder.

A wording on the “full release” of claims by senior creditors could absolve Noble legal debt claims, Singapore Business Review reported. According to Bloomberg, experts are raising concerns about Noble’s debt restructuring plan. On page 5 of Noble’s restructuring term sheet, a clause states that the arrangement provides the “full release of any and all other claims” that any senior creditor may have against Noble Group, its management, directors, advisers, agents and representatives in relation to its existing senior debt.

Indonesia will hand over a luxury yacht seized on the resort island of Bali to U.S. authorities, police said Wednesday, giving the Justice Department an elusive asset connected to a $4.5 billion fraud case centered on the Malaysian state fund 1MDB, The Wall Street Journal reported. Daniel Silitonga, Indonesia’s chief police investigator in seizure of the yacht Equanimity, said police would transfer control over the $250 million, 300-foot vessel “in a few days” upon the completion of legal arrangements.