German federal prosecutors descended on Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt headquarters and Berlin offices Wednesday morning, conducting searches as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering. The raid cast a shadow on what should have been an unblemished moment of triumph as CEO Christian Sewing announced booming annual profits at Germany’s largest lender, Fortune reported. The morning after the raid, Deutsche Bank announced its highest annual profit since 2007: $8.5 billion net profit in 2025, powered by robust investment banking revenues.

The number of UK businesses in “critical” financial distress is surging as firms grapple with an increased tax burden, unpredictable economic outlook and rising costs, according to insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor, Bloomberg News reported. Corporate distress increased 43.8% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, and all 22 sectors covered by the firm’s proprietary Red Flag Alert tracker saw a deterioration in their financial health. Distress was up 21.3% compared with the previous quarter, Begbies Traynor said in a report published Thursday.

The Original Factory Shop has fallen into administration, putting the future of the chain’s 137 stores and 1,180 staff at risk, The Independent reported. The discount retailer appointed administrators from Interpath Advisory on Wednesday and will continue to trade from its stores across the UK as the insolvency experts assess options in a bid to keep it afloat. While all online sales made before Wednesday will be delivered as normal, online operations have now been shut down.

The $2tn (£1.5tn) private credit industry is being quizzed by the City watchdog over fears its unrecognised losses could fuel a financial system meltdown, the Telegraph revealed. Officials from the Financial Conduct Authority have in recent weeks been piling pressure on so-called shadow banks – an increasingly critical source of funding for the speculative AI boom – to more rigorously mark down the value of loans that are at risk of not being repaid in full.

The Irish economy grew at an accelerated rate of 12.6 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP) terms last year as multinationals front-loaded goods exports into the US to avoid tariffs, the Irish Times reported. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) cautioned that its estimate of GDP growth for 2025 was preliminary and based on “incomplete” data sources. If confirmed, however, it will make Ireland the fastest-growing economy in Europe and one of the fastest in the world.

The head of Russia's lower house of the country’s parliament on Thursday said that crypto market regulations will be ready by June of this year and come into force on July 1, 2027, CoinDesk.com reported. Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, said that qualified and unqualified investors will be allowed to purchase cryptocurrencies although under separate rules, according to the Duma’s official news outlet. A cap will be in place on retail investors' crypto purchases with the figure of 300,000 rubles ($4,000) being discussed, he added.

A director of a payroll company who moved millions to a Montenegrin bank while his company was insolvent has been disqualified for seven years, BBC.com reported. The Insolvency Service said Paul Bresnihan, from Leicester-based CJS Engagement 2 Ltd, transferred €4.8m (£4.17m) to an account in Europe at a time when the company owed HMRC more than £32m. It said that Bresnihan "did not provide an explanation for the money transfers", and "has not co-operated" with attempts to recover the money.

The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) will this week become the latest retailer to call in administrators, putting about 1,200 jobs at risk, Sky News reported. The discount chain, which was already on the brink of collapse when it was bought by Modella Capital last year, is expected to appoint Interpath to handle its insolvency as soon as Wednesday afternoon. TOFS, which opened its first shop in the late 1960s, trades from approximately 130 stores. Read more.

Native Instruments is in preliminary insolvency proceedings, according to documentation reported by Create Digital Music. According to that report, a preliminary insolvency administrator has been appointed, who will take responsibility for restructuring the company and any sale of existing assets. The German music technology brand, known for era-defining products such as Maschine, Massive, Traktor and Kontakt, has been through numerous changes over the past decade.