HSBC Holdings Plc and Banco Santander SA took the biggest hits so far among European banks struggling to contain the impact of the coronavirus on their loan books, with the U.K.-based lender expecting as much as $11 billion of damage this year because of the outbreak, Bloomberg News reported.

UBS Group AG expressed confidence it can withstand a surge in bad loans while warning that the unprecedented outbreak will put pressure on key streams of income at its wealth management business, Bloomberg News reported. The bank -- which posted a 40% jump in profit to $1.6 billion -- said falling asset prices will erode recurring fee income while low interest rates hit lending income. Despite an expected drop in client activity, UBS indicated the “high quality” of its credit portfolio may shield it from more widespread defaults.

Lufthansa might seek some form of protection from creditors while talking to the Berlin government about a 9 billion euro ($9.76 billion) rescue package, a company source said on Tuesday after government and airline sources said talks on a deal were continuing, Reuters reported. The company source said the type of creditor protection under consideration would require the company to be still solvent, with management staying on to oversee a restructuring.

The German company that built three Coastal-class vessels for B.C. Ferries more than a decade ago is insolvent, Business in Vancouver reported. A B.C. Ferries official said Friday that the organization has no relationship with the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard anymore, since the warranty period for the ships was two years. “We don’t have any service or maintenance relationship with them,” B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said Friday.

European markets are hoping the ECB, again facing the task of rescuing the euro zone, will soon add junk-rated company debt to its stimulus programmes, but some investors say such a bold move might prove counterproductive, Reuters reported. Since the fateful ‘whatever-it-takes’ moment in 2012 - when its then president Mario Draghi pledged to save the euro at any cost - the European Central Bank has shown a readiness to cross red lines whenever the bloc’s economy is in trouble.

Norwegian Air Shuttle has warned that the bulk of its fleet is likely to remain grounded for the next 12 months and that a full recovery would not take place until 2022, laying bare the scale of the crisis engulfing the airline industry, the Financial Times reported. As part of a planned $1.2bn debt-for-equity swap to try to ensure the low-cost airline’s survival, Norwegian said on Monday that its base case was that its fleet would remain fully grounded until April 2021, apart from the seven aircraft currently flying in Norway.

Bondholders to U.K. discount retailer Matalan have hired advisers as the company draws up plans to raise additional funding to cope with the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, Bloomberg News reported. Creditors will work with financial adviser Perella Weinberg Partners Group LP and law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP in the coming weeks, Matalan said in a statement Monday. The retailer said it’s too early to specify the amount of funding required but guided that 60 million pounds ($74 million) could be sufficient to help the business get back on its feet.

Market gauges measuring euro break-up risk emanating from Italy are starting to flicker, flagging the risk that another existential crisis may be building for the euro zone. Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, Italy faces recession and massive debt increases, Reuters reported. It’s also been left disillusioned with the response from wealthier northern European states to calls for help. On Thursday, EU leaders agreed a trillion-euro emergency fund to finance recovery from the pandemic but provided few details.

Problem loans at some of Standard Chartered Plc’s large clients may top $600 million as a string of corporate scandals coincides with woes at firms hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. NMC Health Plc, the hospital operator that’s uncovered evidence of fraud, and Hin Leong Trading (Pte.), the Singaporean trading house being investigated by police, represent nearly $500 million of lending for Standard Chartered, according to public filings. Separately, a South African farm bank that the London-based company lends to has defaulted on some of its debt.

Norway’s parliament voted through a new company restructuring law on Friday that could help save Norwegian Air and many other companies from potential bankruptcy as a result of the restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19, Reuters reported. The legislation replaces current regulation on debt negotiations and relaxes rules for converting debt into equity. “(The new law) is a more efficient tool to ... sort out what parts of a business can be strong enough to survive,” Justice Minster Monica Maeland told parliament.