Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas on Sunday dismissed as "speculation" a report in the Sunday Times that said the company was considering putting itself up for sale and had entered debt restructuring talks with its lenders, Reuters reported. The Sunday Times, which cited no sources for its information, said that Vestas' banks had given it an "ultimatum," and demanded that the company prepare a comprehensive financial restructuring plan.

Swiss steel and coal trader Carbofer General Trading (CGT) was declared bankrupt last month, officials in its home town Lugano said on Friday, shortly after its shipping branch Carbofer Maritime, Reuters reported. CGT, once a large player in the spot coal and steel trade, was declared bankrupt on May 16, the bankruptcy office of Lugano told Reuters, as market conditions worsened and financing froze up. Its Copenhagen-based shipping branch Carbofer Maritime Trading (CMT) was declared bankrupt about a month earlier, the Danish Sea and Maritime court said.

The problems facing the global shipping industry continued on Thursday as Danish oil tanker operator Torm postponed an equity rights issue as it tried to renegotiate its debt repayment schedule with banks, the Financial Times reported. The company, which is majority owned by the Greek Panayotides shipping family, also unveiled an unexpectedly deep third-quarter net loss of $70.4m. The worldwide oversupply of ships has pushed the industry into its worst financial crisis in decades, with earnings well below operating expenses in many markets pushing companies into heavy losses.

Denmark’s bank watchdog aims to complete its inspections of lenders at risk of insolvency by January, and expects most will fail its audit, Bloomberg reported. The Financial Supervisory Authority’s review covers lenders identified by the regulator as “risky” and “in seven out of 10 inspections, we insist on either higher writedowns or higher solvency requirements,” Ulrik Noedgaard, director general at the FSA, said in an interview.

The Danish government Thursday said that a political deal has been reached on new measures to support consolidation in the country's fragmented banking industry, passing into law a range of planned reforms proposed earlier August by Economic and Business Affairs Minister Brian Mikkelsen, Dow Jones reported. The reforms, which add to Denmark's earlier Bank Package 3 regulatory framework, aim first and foremost to pre-empt bank collapses by facilitating takeovers of troubled lenders, the minister said in a statement.

The Danish government is planning a new range of measures to support the country's banking sector, Minister of Economic and Business Affairs Brian Mikkelsen told reporters Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported. No decisions have yet been made, but political parties plan to soon meet again and will hopefully reach an agreement on the matter, Mr. Mikkelsen said. The measures will support consolidation and secure funding for troubled banks. A number of small banks face severe problems with funding, and large credit exposure to the ailing agriculture and real estate sectors, he said.

Denmark's banking sector needs to consolidate in coming years to better withstand tougher international market conditions, the Danish Finance Minister said in an interview, The Wall Street Journal reported. "A structural adjustment needs to take place in the Danish banking sector, we have many small banks," Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen said. The country's banking sector is highly fragmented, counting more than 100 banks—many of which are tiny, local lenders—serving a population of just 5.6 million.

Standard & Poor's said Thursday that as many as 15 Danish banks could default due to loans made to the property and agricultural sectors from 2005 to 2007, hitting the country's ailing banking sector with another potential blow. "Denmark's banking crisis is not yet over," the credit rating institute said, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Read more. (Subscription required.)

Danish banks will have to pay out higher returns on their debt to attract international investors as Europe’s toughest insolvency laws increase funding costs and hurt profitability, a Moody’s Investors Service executive said, Bloomberg reported.

The remnants of Danish bank Amagerbanken, which fell into state hands in February, will be allowed to distribute additional funds to eligible creditors, administrators of the failed bank said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Finansiel Stabilitet, the state company that manages failed banks in Denmark, said a new valuation of Amagerbanken's assets and liabilities provided a basis for increasing payouts by about 6.7 billion Danish crowns ($1.27 billion).