Foreign banks have fled Russia in dramatic fashion in 2014, cutting back their exposure to the country well ahead of the latest escalation of the rouble crisis, the Financial Times reported. Overall syndicated loan volumes this year collapsed to just 14 per cent of the 2013 total, as western lenders retrenched from a market that looked increasingly risky as the year progressed. Foreign banks are expected to continue retreating next year, putting further pressure on Russia’s already fragile economy.

Dutch sportscar maker Spyker, one-time owner of Sweden's Saab, declared bankruptcy on Thursday, after failing to secure a critical bridging loan it had hoped would help it refinance and restructure, Reuters reported. The company, formed in 2000 to resurrect an early 20th century Dutch auto marque, had filed for protection from creditors earlier this month, hoping to stave off collapse.

Creditors of Mriya Agro Holding Plc said they presented the Ukrainian agricultural group with their own plan to restructure about $1 billion debt, Bloomberg News reported. Bondholders and lenders want the company to hire a chief restructuring officer and have submitted a “detailed proposal” to help rescue the company and avoid insolvency, according to an e-mailed statement from Rothschild, their financial adviser. Tension between management and creditors has been growing since Mriya said in August it missed payments on some of its obligations.

Mediafax Group, owned by media mogul Adrian Sarbu, has officially entered insolvency, according to the ruling of The Bucharest Court, after submitting an official request, Business Review reported. The Bucharest Court has nominated KPMG Restructuring as temporary legal administrator, with a fee of RON 5,000, according to paginademedia.ro. Mediafax Group requested its own insolvency on November 27. The company is being investigated under accusations of tax evasion and money laundry. Mediafax Group.

Portugal's securities market regulator, CMVM, said on Wednesday Angolan billionaire businesswoman Isabel dos Santos has to increase the 1.35 euro a share price in her takeover bid for Portugal Telecom SGPS. CMVM said in a statement it did not accept arguments presented by Dos Santos' Terra Peregrin company for an exemption from the rule that dictates that the bidding price has to be at least the share's average price over the last six months.

Seeking to calm growing fears of an economic meltdown, the Russian government on Wednesday introduced a package of measures to reduce pressures on banks and urged the public to stay calm, the International New York Times reported. It seemed to work, at least temporarily. By Wednesday evening, amid indications of a government intervention in the currency markets, the ruble had recovered more than 11 percent of the previous day’s losses. Prime Minister Dmitri A.

European leaders are balking at providing additional financial aid for Ukraine despite an urgent need to fill a $15bn funding gap as criticism of Kiev’s reform efforts mounts, the Financial Times reported. The International Monetary Fund has identified the hole in Ukraine’s public finances, prompting Kiev to seek assistance from European and other governments to avoid a possible default.

The results from the Bank of England’s latest health check on Britain’s top banks are in, with one bank failing, one coming razor close to failing and a third looking bad enough at the end of 2013 to warrant significant fund-raising, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported.

German developer and publisher BitComposer has filed for insolvency. The studio claimed its own problems stemmed from “the financial difficulties of its suppliers in game development”. As a result, it said, it could not complete work on its new titles and subsequently missed financial targets. BitComposer had applied for a protective shield procedure on September 26th. This protected the company from foreclosure from creditors, while also allowing it to develop an insolvency plan. During this period the firm was able to publish additional titles.

The battered ruble plunged to a record low against the dollar again Tuesday, as investors grew convinced that the Russian central bank’s surprise move overnight to jack up interest rates to 17% wouldn’t be enough to alleviate the pressure on the currency from falling oil prices and western sanctions, The Wall Street Journal reported. By early afternoon in Moscow, the ruble dropped sharply, reaching 80 to the dollar, a record low and a 15% decline from opening levels when it rallied briefly. At 4:30 p.m. local time, the dollar was trading around 73 rubles.