German PV installer and distributor Wagner & Co Solar has filed for insolvency in a court in Germany, PV Tech reported. The company is the latest in a line of firms whose fortunes have fallen with the drop in domestic demand for solar power. “Unfortunately, the market for solar power and heating systems has not as developed positively in recent months, as we had assumed…in our restructuring plan,” a statement from the company said. According to the firm, sustained losses meant it could no longer guarantee that it could fund its everyday operations without structural changes.

Britain has blocked plans by state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland to pay bonuses worth double an employee's fixed salary, adding to the pressure on banks to rein in pay. Banks across Europe have come under fire from the public, shareholders and politicians for extravagantly rewarding staff at a time of austerity that was brought on in part by the reckless lending of some financial groups. British Business Secretary Vince Cable this week wrote to banks and other big companies warning them to cut out excessive rewards or face tighter rules.

Eurozone banks are set to be notified immediately if major problems emerge in their accounts as a result of current regulatory investigations as officials seek to avoid the threat of market-moving leaks over the summer, the Financial Times reported. The European Central Bank has been holding intensive discussions about the best way of handling the delicate issue of communicating results emerging from its Asset Quality Review which is being coupled with a stress test.

With tensions over Ukraine continuing to mount, Russia is scrambling to stem the economic fallout, as its central bank unexpectedly raised a crucial interest rate on Friday, the International New York Times reported. The move is intended to help halt the slide in the country’s currency and stem the exodus of capital, both of which are intensifying the country’s economic problems. Hours earlier, the rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Russia’s debt to the brink of junk status, citing the destabilizing effects of capital flight from Russia.

Britain has blocked plans by state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland to pay bonuses worth double an employee's fixed salary, adding to the pressure on banks to rein in pay. Banks across Europe have come under fire from the public, shareholders and politicians for extravagantly rewarding staff at a time of austerity that was brought on in part by the reckless lending of some financial groups. British Business Secretary Vince Cable this week wrote to banks and other big companies warning them to cut out excessive rewards or face tighter rules.

Greece’s mountain of debt will decline more slowly than previously expected, the European Commission said in a Friday report, the International New York Times reported. As the country’s recovery from a debilitating recession creeps only slowly ahead, the report said, Greece’s effort to lower its nearly 319 billion euro debt by selling off state assets continues to miss targets.

European banks have been urged to take advantage of favourable market conditions to raise capital before tougher rules on tapping public backstops come into force, the Financial Times reported. Vítor Constâncio, the European Central Bank ’s vice-president, said the current strong appetite among investors to plough money into euro area banks was “reassuring”, amid a series of fundraisings by euro area lenders. However, he urged banks and investors to carefully study new legislation governing the resolution and bail-in powers that will kick in when banks get into serious trouble.

Lenders to the Gherkin, the conical skyscraper that’s one of London’s best-known landmarks, appointed a receiver to take control of the building after years of defaults, Bloomberg News reported. Holders of debt backed by the 30 St. Mary Axe tower in the City of London financial district hired Deloitte LLP after “adverse interest rate and currency movements have caused the total senior liabilities secured by the property to increase materially,” the company said in a statement today. Receivership is similar to U.S. bankruptcy protection.

The special liquidators of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation have told the Government they expect the proceeds from the sale of loan portfolios at the defunct institution to exceed the €12.9 billion in IBRC-related debt issued by the State at the time of its winding up last year. As a result there will be no additional taxpayer liability relating to the former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide above the €34.7 billion that was given to the banks in 2009/10 via share capital and the Anglo promissory note.

Officials in charge of liquidating a pair of failed Irish banks are asking a U.S. bankruptcy judge to sign off on sales involving about EUR15 billion ($20.72 billion) in soured loans, as Ireland continues to dig out from the wreckage of its collapsed property market, The Wall Street Journal reported. Irish Bank Resolution Corp., a state-backed bank liquidation vehicle, is selling the bad loans at a discount to a group of distressed debt buyers, including affiliates of Lone Star Funds, Deutsche Bank Group, and Goldman Sachs. Approval from Judge Christopher Sontchi of the U.S.