After a tumultuous year for Greeks, their politicians and their banks, a new Syriza-led government must by next week legislate measures to recapitalise all four lenders with about €15bn of money from the country’s €86bn third bailout, the Financial Times reported. There is no room this time for the slippage that marked the previous Syriza administration’s attempts at structural reform.

AIB will be in a position to repay a “very sizeable chunk” of capital to the State in the “not too distant future”, its chief executive Bernard Byrne told the annual dinner of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night, the Irish Times reported. “The Minister for Finance [Michael Noonan] will determine when and how the bank will return more capital to the State through an initial public offering but you can be assured that we will be ready, when he makes that decision,” Mr Byrne said, citing the bank’s improved financial performance.

German exports posted their steepest decline in almost seven years in August, the clearest sign yet that economic weakness in emerging markets is forcing Europe’s export champion away from its longtime reliance on foreign trade, The Wall Street Journal reported. The data will be welcome in the U.S. and at organizations such as the International Monetary Fund that have long lobbied for Europe’s largest economy to reduce its mammoth trade surplus and rely more on domestic growth as a way to help boost surrounding economies in the eurozone.

THE biggest risks to the global economy are now in emerging markets, where private companies have racked up considerable debt amid a fifth straight year of slowing growth, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday. “We estimate that there is up to $US3 trillion ($A4.16 trillion) in over-borrowing in emerging markets,” Jose Vinals, a top IMF official, said in presenting the body’s Global Financial Stability report at its annual meeting.

A European Union court on Wednesday rejected claims by more than 200 Italian investors against the European Central Bank over Greek debt restructuring in 2012, saying their losses were part of normal financial market risk. According to a Reuters report, more than 200 Italian investors were seeking to sue ECB for damages of more than 12 million euros. The investors claimed that ECB negotiated a secret swap agreement with Greece early in 2012, receiving new better-structured bonds and so granting itself preferred creditor status to the detriment of others, Reuters says.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told lawmakers early on Thursday that Athens must conclude the first review of its new international bailout within November, to start talks over a debt relief before the end of the year, Reuters reported. "Our main target is to conclude the review within November and the bank recapitalisation by the end of the year, in order to, at last, start the discussion over a debt relief," Tsipras said ahead of a confidence vote.

Deutsche Bank AG expects to report a surprise third-quarter loss of 6.2 billion euros ($7 billion) and may eliminate its dividend for the year after writing down the value of its two biggest divisions and boosting its reserve for legal costs, Bloomberg News reported. The estimates, announced in a statement Wednesday, are part of a strategy that co-Chief Executive Officer John Cryan will present Oct. 29 as he looks to shore up capital and boost profitability at Europe’s biggest investment bank.

The Fitch rating agency has cut Ukraine's foreign currency rating to restrictive default after Kiev failed to repay $500 million in Eurobonds on September 23. A ‘restrictive default’ Fitch rating indicates a failure to pay on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation without entering bankruptcy or ceasing operations. The Fitch’s downgrade comes after a similar move from Standard & Poor’s that downgraded Ukraine’s credit rating to 'selective default' on September 25.

Alexis Tsipras has pledged to steer Greece back to economic growth in the second half of next year but said he would try to negotiate softer terms with the country’s creditors on energy liberalisation and social policies, the Financial Times reported. The Greek premier won an unexpectedly solid victory in a snap election held last month.

Lending by Ireland’s 354 credit unions slumped to a 15-year low of €3.5 billion in the 12 months to June 2015, due to a combination of reduced demand and lending restrictions imposed by the Central Bank, the Irish Times reported. However, with some €5.5 billion in available funds ready to lend to members, the movement is hopeful that an upturn is on the way. According to the Irish League of Credit Unions’ annual review, loans fell by €166 million, or 4 per cent in the year to June 2015, down to €3.5 billion. The last time credit union loans were at such a level was in 2000.