The Swiss National Bank called on Tuesday for an overhaul of bank capital regulations, saying that Switzerland needed rules that recognise UBS has become a bank with even more systemic importance following its takeover of Credit Suisse, Reuters reported. In its annual report, the SNB also said it would accept some forms of credit as collateral from banks wanting to access cash in an emergency, a significant move that is designed to ensure banks do not run out of cash in a crisis. Last year, the SNB said Credit Suisse's lack of collateral accelerated the bank's collapse.

European stock market operator Euronext does not plan to go into cryptoasset trading without firm backing from its regulators, Chief Executive Stephane Boujnah said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Once reluctant exchanges are now moving into the crypto space as bitcoin recovers from a crash to hit all-time highs of nearly $74,000 last week, gaining more than 50% this year, as inflows into U.S. listed bitcoin funds surged.

Signa Prime and the holding company of logistics billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne are in talks about handing the insolvent property firm a lifeline as creditors meet to discuss its restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported. Kuehne Holding, a Signa Prime shareholder, and some banks are considering an emergency loan for more than €100 million ($109 million). It would provide liquidity to cover bills and continue construction on developments.

Saudi Arabia and Gucci-owner Kering are said to be circling Selfridges as the insolvency of the department store’s co-owner triggers a battle for the business, the Telegraph reported. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and luxury goods giant Kering, which is owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault, are both thought to be interested in a stake in Selfridges, according to City sources. Interest has been triggered by the collapse of Signa, the Austrian company run by businessman Rene Benko that owns half of Selfridges’ property company.

The profits were multiplying at a dizzying clip: 50%, 100%, then suddenly almost 200%. Even for long-time veterans at Attestor Ltd., a boutique London firm that specializes in trading distressed assets, this had the makings of a score to remember, Bloomberg News reported. The trade — targeting the remains of Sam Bankman-Fried’s once-vast cryptocurrency empire — became a popular one in distressed investing circles last year.

A Luxembourg court declared construction company Maçonlux bankrupt on Friday, making it the latest victim of the country’s construction downturn, despite a recent job cull in an attempt by the firm to avoid collapse, the Luxembourg Times reported. At the end of February, construction company Carvalho had warned it will seek bankruptcy, leaving 103 staff unemployed. This was preceded in December by renovation specialist Batipol, which employed 35 people.

European venture capital-backed companies are signing up to increasingly complex convertible debt deals which risk giving investors more control or bigger payouts further down the road, people involved in the deals told Reuters. Ultra-low interest rates allowed growing companies to complete equity funding rounds at sky-high valuations during a boom in 2020 and 2021. But as venture funding has dried up, companies and their investors have been wary of equity funding rounds which risk establishing a new, lower valuation.

The number of companies declared insolvent in England and Wales last month was 17% higher than a year earlier, as many businesses continued to struggle following a surge in costs last year and ongoing high interest rates, Reuters reported. The Insolvency Service, a government agency, said 2,102 companies were declared insolvent, up from 1,801 in February 2023 and more than 50% higher than in February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit Britain.

Insolvent Romanian insurer Euroins, under the external management of CITR insolvency experts, has sued the Bulgarian reinsurance company EIG Re in order to recover some RON 800 million (EUR 160 million) transferred by the Romanian subsidiary a couple of weeks before losing its operating license, Romania-Insider.com reported. CITR sued EIG Re, a reinsurance firm in the Eurohold group, both in Romania and Bulgaria, Economica.net reported. The money was transferred to EIG Re under a contract with unusual clauses that block Euroins’ access to the funds in case it loses the operating license.

Lawyers for top liquidator Kieran Wallace cannot “drive a coach and four” through insolvency legislation with a novel claim for over €6 million on behalf of an insolvent pension fund, a State barrister has said, the Irish Times reported. The remark was made on the final day of hearing into a complaint under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, taken by Mr Wallace against the Minister for Enterprise.