Facing a growing problem of debt defaults, the Chinese government should deploy 100 billion to 200 billion yuan ($16 billion to $32 billion) this year to help restructure indebted companies, a former adviser to the central bank said Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported. "In the second half of the year, the government should promote debt restructuring in certain sectors," economist Li Daokui said at a news briefing, adding that the funds should be taken from the budget.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third-largest bank, plans to offer investors as much as 5 billion euros, or $6.9 billion, in new stock as it fights to avoid nationalization and braces for stress tests of its balance sheet by European regulators, the lender announced on Friday, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. The bank’s board approved the plan in an afternoon meeting, agreeing on €2 billion more than a previous management proposal that shareholders balked at in December.

Up to 75,000 van and car drivers are being advised to seek alternative insurance cover following the collapse of Dublin-based Setanta Insurance, the Irish Times reported. The insurance firm, which was licensed by the Maltese Financial Services Authority, had been in the process of winding up its business here since January. However, at an extraordinary general meeting yesterday, shareholders were told a solvent run-off of the business was no longer possible and a decision was made to immediately dissolve the business.

Shoe Rack plans to seek fresh investment after the appointment of an examiner to the footwear chain, the Irish Times reported. The High Court appointed accountant Anthony Weldon of Kieran Ryan & Co as examiner following a petition from its directors earlier this month. Shoe Rack employs 70 people and operates 10 stores under its own brand and three concessions. It recently closed outlets in Cork and Dublin.

Romania’s new Insolvency Code, which was adopted on Tuesday, in the Parliament, allows for judiciary re-administration plans to be more easily accepted from now on in Romania. It also moves the focus from a company’s total debt value and debt per creditor, to the number of creditors, Romania-Insider.com reported. This way, creditors which hold a smaller debt package in an insolvent company have a bigger say in the re-organization vote.

Royal Bank of Scotland has been cleared of deliberately engineering the collapse of some of its business customers, but has decided to sell off the £3.2bn commercial property portfolio at the centre of the row, The Guardian reported. The state-backed lender was accused last November in a report by a former government adviser, Lawrence Tomlinson, of putting some distressed commercial clients out of business in order to scoop up assets for its own West Register property business.

Britain's Co-operative Group will report a loss of more than 2 billion pounds on Thursday, laying bare the full damage done by disastrous acquisitions, a drugs scandal and an exodus of executives that have put its future as a mutual into doubt, Reuters reported. Losses at the group, whose activities range from supermarkets to funeral services, are expected to be up to 2.5 billion pounds for 2013, according to a source close to the matter.

Spanish media conglomerate Vertice 360 has declared insolvency and filed for a suspension of payments, which paves the way for a court-appointed administrator to prioritize debt and mediate payments with creditors, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The move comes after the Vertice failed to reach an agreement on its own with its creditors. The film and television group has been seeking to increase capital through various methods since December 2013, after posting a financial debt of $19.9 million (€14.4 million), with $93.7 million (€67.8 million) in losses.

German luxury fashion company Strenesse, once known for dressing the German national soccer team at official events, has filed for insolvency, it said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The family-owned company, which has been struggling with its finances but seemed back on a firmer footing in February when creditors agreed a new 12 million-euro ($16.6 million) bond, said it would seek to restructure itself under insolvency proceedings. "We want to return Strenesse to profitability as soon as possible," lawyer Michael Pluta, who will act as chief restructuring officer, said.

Romania's Chamber of Deputies, or the lower house of the parliament, on Tuesday passed an insolvency bill to ensure honest business environment, New Europe Online reported. The bill proposes "an insolvency code that puts together all the regulations governing the pre-insolvency and insolvency mechanisms targeting the economic operators and it does so in a correlated and adjusted manner," explained Justice Minister Robert Cazanciuc.