The Bank of Japan said it may buy subordinated loans from banks for the first time to revive lending and replenish capital depleted by falling stock prices, Bloomberg reported. The central bank is considering the purchase of up to 1 trillion yen ($10 billion) of the debt in an “exceptional” step, it said in a statement in Tokyo today. The bank concludes a two-day policy meeting tomorrow.

When economic crisis struck Asia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, international law firms with newly crippled clients in the region flew in their top restructuring specialists from the United States and Europe. This time around, though, those lawyers are much in demand at home, leaving Asian offices somewhat strapped for bankruptcy lawyers, The AmLaw Daily reported. With the economy swooning, restructuring assignments are on the rise in Asia as much as elsewhere in the world.

US-based Primus Telecommunications Group, together with three affiliated holding companies, said it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy so it could undergo a restructure. The company will reduce its principal debt obligations and interest payments by more than 50 percent. The restructure will grant the company a three year extension on its debt maturities and will allow the company to continue operating as it is, The Australian reported.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed concern over the outlook for the U.S. government debt China holds, urging Washington to take effective policies to restore the American economy to health, The Wall Street Journal reported. Speaking at his annual news conference--a rare opportunity for reporters to ask the premier questions directly--Mr. Wen voiced confidence in the Chinese government's ability to keep its own economy growing, saying it is willing to do what it takes to ensure China meets its traditional growth target of around 8% this year.

The European Commission said on Friday that it had launched an in-depth investigation into the restructuring of Belgian-French financial group Dexia, Reuters reported. The Commission said in a statement it intended to make sure the restructuring plan would guarantee the long-term viability of the group, hit hard by the financial crisis. But the executive arm of the 27-nation European Union also authorised guarantees worth $16.9 billion from the Belgian and French governments to aid in the sale of FSA, the bank's U.S. subsidiary.

New Zealand investors have nixed Babcock & Brown’s hope of staying afloat, rejecting a restructure proposal and an 0.1% payout on their $225 million investment in Babcock subordinated notes, The National Business Review reported. Babcock is now in administration, as the vote that was to be held later today in Australia will no longer take place. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have been appointed as administrators. They will ask creditors to nominate a committee of representatives at the first meeting to be held on March 25.

South Korea's seventh largest shipping line Samsun Logix has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in Manhattan, Seatrade Asia reported. Samsun Logix has more than $100 million of assets and debts, the firm said in its filing. A series of firms failing to pay charter hire sent Samsun to the wall. It filed for court receivership in Seoul in February. Established in 1980 as Samsun Shipping Corporation, the firm maintains it was not paid fees worth $40 million by a Swiss company which filed for bankruptcy protection late last year.

Personal insolvencies in New Zealand have jumped in the first full year after a simplified alternative to bankruptcy was introduced, but new restrictions may not provide much more of a barrier to people taking up the option, The National Business Review reported. "No asset procedures" or NAPs, provide a one-off chance for people with no assets to wipe off up to $40,000 in debt and emerge a year later with a clean slate to borrow again. Further restrictions on NAPs were proposed this week in a bill introduced to Parliament by Commerce Minister Simon Power.

Pacific Holdings, one of Japan’s largest real estate investment fund sponsors, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday with liabilities of Y163.6 billion ($1.6 billion) after failing to receive a capital injection from 10 Chinese investors to help repay part of its debts, the Financial Times reported. The failure of Pacific--which sponsors both Nippon Residential and Nippon Commercial real estate investment trusts--reflects the difficulty many property companies are facing raising funds either in the capital markets or from banks.

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan rose 10.38% in the 12 months to February to 1,318, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. Compared to January, the number of bankruptcy cases fell 3.08% from 1,360. The credit research firm also reported that the total debt of bankrupt companies increased 236.55% year-over-year in February to ¥1.23 trillion. On a monthly basis, the amount of debt rose 46.5% from January's level. Read more.