BWG, the operator of the Spar and Mace retail brands, yesterday concluded a debt restructuring with a consortium of five lenders that will see an estimated €100 million wiped from the group’s property borrowings, the Irish Times reported. The company, which had debts of about €300 million before the restructuring, has finalised a five-year arrangement with its lenders Bank of Ireland, AIB, Ulster Bank, Bank of Scotland (Ireland) and Blackstone.

Greece on Thursday outlined a 2014 budget that predicts a return to economic growth after six straight years of recession, putting the country’s prospects in an optimistic light, the International New York Times reported. But it came just two days after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast that the Greek economy would shrink again next year. And the budget, which was presented to Parliament, has not received the necessary approval of the country’s trio of international creditors.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble said there’s no rolling back the reform course in the Europe Union and that resorting to any form of debt sharing would ultimately lead to Europe’s demise, the Irish Times reported. Mr Schäuble, speaking to a meeting of insurers in Berlin today, said that he had told the European Central Bank of the risk that its monetary policy set “wrong incentives”. Rather, it’s necessary for countries to “stay the course” agreed upon by policy makers during the euro-area debt crisis that emerged in Greece four years ago, he said.

Finnish miner Talvivaara edged closer to bankruptcy on Thursday after saying unnamed stakeholders had baulked at providing additional funds to help restructure debt of more than 300 million euros ($404 million), Reuters reported. Talvivaara, hurt by falling nickel prices and production problems, said it was assessing other funding options and could use its own cash to help it through the overhaul process. It said it had enough cash to last through the first quarter of 2014, but admitted bankruptcy was a possibility.

Banco Espirito Santo is set to become the first Portuguese bank to raise subordinated debt capital in four years later on Thursday, marking an important step in the country's recovery from a bailout, Reuters reported. Around 300 investors placed orders worth over 3 billion euros for the 10-year Tier 2 capital issue which is not callable for five years. It is set to offer a yield of 7.125 percent, satisfying investors demand for high returns and appetite for weaker European credits.

Germany was once known for its superfast autobahns, efficient industry and ability to rally public resources for big projects, like integration with the former East Germany. But more recently, it has been forced to confront a somewhat uncharacteristic problem: Its infrastructure — roads, bridges, train tracks, waterways and the like — is aging in a way that experts say could undermine its economic growth for years to come, the International New York Times reported. As it has been preaching austerity to its neighbors, Germany itself has kept a tight rein on spending at home.

Russia’s central bank has warned that Russia’s consumer lending sector threatens the country’s “financial stability”, the same day that it revoked the licence of Master Bank, a midsized retail lender, the Financial Times reported. Addressing the Russian Duma, central bank head Elvira Nabiullina reiterated the need for setting a maximum interest rate level for consumer loans due to growing concerns of a bubble in the sector.

Hungary’s competition authority Wednesday levied its highest ever fine in a cartel case against the country’s largest banks, saying they had discouraged home owners with a foreign-currency mortgage from taking part in a program aimed at reducing their loans, The Wall Street Journal Emerging Europe blog reported.

Primož Kozmus is a Slovenian national hero lionised for tossing a hammer to double Olympic gold. Soon he might be forced to honour his Alpine homeland another way: sacrificing his personal fortune to help avert a eurozone bailout, the Financial Times reported. Slovenia’s banks are in such a dire state that Mr Kozmus is almost certain to face a so-called haircut, which will slice through the more than €100,000 of junior bank bonds he bought during Slovenia’s heady credit boom. “The money was safe and then they changed the rules,” said Mr Kozmus.

The main banks have agreed a protocol to deal with legacy small and medium enterprise (SME) debt that they are planning to implement from January 2nd. Agreed under the auspices of the Irish Banking Federation, the protocol will deal with SMEs who are multi-banked – have loans with a number of lenders – and in arrears with their debts, the Irish Times reported. Details of the protocol emerged at the IBF’s annual conference yesterday. IBF president John Reynolds said Irish banks were “committed” to tackling legacy SME debt to help these companies become viable again.