A court opinion issued on Wednesday makes it all but certain that the European Central Bank will announce a major round of economic stimulus next week, after months of contentious internal debate, the International New York Times reported. But much mystery remains about how the bank will deploy quantitative easing — buying government bonds on a large scale to pump money into the economy. The central bank still needs to decide the amount and the mix of bonds, including whether riskier nations such as Greece should be avoided.

The number of people using the Insolvency Service of Ireland has increased dramatically in recent months while the number of banks blocking debt settlement deals appears to be falling. According to new figures released by the agency the number of Personal Insolvency Arrangements dealing with debts including mortgage debt approved in the last three months of 2014 increased by 148 per cent over the three preceding months and exceeded the previous three quarters combined, the Irish Times reported.

Splits on the European Central Bank’s governing council had already left Mario Draghi facing tough choices on how to design a quantitative easing package for the eurozone. The European Court of Justice may impose more limits on the ECB president’s options on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported. One of the ECJ’s advocates-general, Pedro Cruz Villalón, will issue an interim ruling on whether an earlier promise to save the region from economic ruin by buying government bonds in potentially unlimited quantities overstepped the ECB’s mandate.

The cost to individuals of filing for bankruptcy in Ireland has been slashed to €270 from about €1,400 a year ago in a bid to make the process more affordable for those in financial distress, the Irish Times reported. This is in addition to the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) waiving fees until the end of 2015 relating to personal insolvency arrangements (PIAs). These previously cost about €500. The lower fees for bankruptcy were quietly introduced on December 31st. It involves a fee of €200 as a contribution to the work of the official assignee in bankruptcy cases.

Greece’s debt burden is now equal to 177 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, a level many economists regard as unsustainable. The unpopularity of the swingeing austerity required to service it has propelled the radical left Syriza party with its promise of debt restructuring into pole position ahead of snap elections on January 26, the Financial Times reported.

Local retailer Succes, owned by the businessman Nicolae Sarcina, recently filed for insolvency, Romania-Insider.com reported. The company which posted a EUR 350 million turnover in 2013 and has 1,600 employees, will receive the court decision on its insolvency request on January 27, reports local Ziarul Financiar. Profi and Mega Image, two of the largest supermarket chains in Romania, are interested in taking over Succes stores.

The Russian central bank’s net currency interventions in 2014 amounted to $76.13 billion and €5.41 billion, Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing central bank data, the Irish Times reported. Interventions in the month of December amounted to $11.9 billion. The bank intervened heavily last year as the rouble slumped because of international tensions over the Ukraine crisis and plummeting prices for oil, Russia’s main export. The Russian rouble opened more than 2 per cent lower against the dollar on Monday, dragged down by flagging oil prices.

The State could eventually recoup all the cash used to bail out AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said. This would leave the €35 billion cost of bailing out Anglo and Irish Nationwide as the final cash cost to the exchequer from the banking collapse.

The highly critical judgment in the bankruptcy trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm has been passed to the office of the US Trustee, which can refer the judge’s findings to the department of justice and recommend criminal charges on perjury and fraud, the Irish Times reported.

Emilio Botín reshaped Banco Santander into one of the largest financial institutions in Europe through a series of major acquisitions, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. Now his daughter, Ana Patricia Botín, is determined to make just as strong an imprint on the bank as her father. Santander said on Thursday that it would begin a capital increase of as much as 7.5 billion euros, or $8.9 billion, and cut its dividend payouts sharply to ease investor concerns about the strength of its balance sheet.