Spain will on Friday reveal plans for a fresh overhaul of its pension system, labour market, service sector and fiscal management, as Madrid prepares to soften its austerity programme in favour of a new focus on structural reforms, the Financial Times reported. The government of Mariano Rajoy hopes the package of measures will bolster investor confidence in the Spanish economy, which is scarred by a two-year recession and soaring unemployment.

A Lithuanian court said it would consider starting bankruptcy proceedings against Ukio Bankas AB at the request of the central bank, which shut the lender in February citing risky loans to related parties, Bloomberg reported. Kaunas District Court agreed today to consider the Bank of Lithuania’s request in a written process with a hearing on May 2, court spokeswoman Gintare Putnikiene said by phone. Ukio was Lithuania’s fourth-largest bank by deposits when it was closed.

Ireland should apply for a precautionary aid programme as part of its bailout exit strategy, Goodbody Stockbrokers said Tuesday, the Irish Times reported. In its quarterly economic commentary, the brokerage warned that while the country was on track to exit the troika programme later this year, significant vulnerabilities still existed. It cited the banking system and the recent rejection of the public sector pay deal as examples of potential "banana skins" which could frustrate the country's economic progress.

NordLB's, one of the world's top ten ship financiers, expects the shipping industry to have passed its darkest hour, though provisions will remain high this year as the sector's recovery is slow, Reuters reported. "There are signs that we have passed the cyclical low point in shipping markets," Chief Executive Gunter Dunkel said at the state-owned lender's annual press conference on Tuesday, adding that he did not expect the crisis to end in the near term.

Greece's Eurobank said Monday it will turn exclusively to government aid to boost its capital, making it the first domestic bank to fall under state control, Dow Jones reported. The lender eschewed plans to raise money from investors that would have secured management control of the lender. Like other banks in Greece, Eurobank got into financial difficulties after it incurred steep losses last year from Greece's debt restructuring and was also hit with rising non-performing loans.

A top European Union official signaled his support Monday for relaxing Europe's austerity drive, in what could be a significant break for countries struggling to hit tough budget targets amid persistent economic weakness, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a speech, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said the policy of austerity pursued by the EU in recent years no longer has the public backing needed to work. "While I think this policy is fundamentally right, I think it has reached its limits," Mr. Barroso said.

At least one of Britain's major banks should be broken up into smaller regional lenders, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who sits on an influential banking reform committee, said on Monday, Reuters reported. Justin Welby, spiritual head of the Anglican Church, spoke in a personal capacity, but his comments offer insight into the thinking of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards which has the role of cleaning up Britain's banking culture.

Public servants should move away from the current final salary pension scheme and all private sector workers should be forced to invest in private pensions under recommendations in a report on pension provision in Ireland, the Irish Times reported. In the most radical review of the Irish pension system to date, the OECD says the “simplest, less costly, and most effective way to increase coverage” is through the introduction of mandatory pension savings. It also suggests that “healthy” employers should not be allowed to walk away from pension liabilities.

Troubled German regional lender HSH said it had cut its exposure to bad shipping loans by persuading struggling debtors to transfer ownership of some vessels to U.S.-listed shipping company Navios, Reuters reported. The deal, unveiled on Monday, may provide a blueprint for the financing of ships that are insolvent and a way for the Hamburg-based lender to cut its 9 billion euro ($11.7 billion) portfolio of bad ship loans, which has already forced it to seek state aid.

NordLB's, one of the world's top ten ship financiers, expects the shipping industry to have passed its darkest hour, though provisions will remain high this year as the sector's recovery is slow, Reuters reported. "There are signs that we have passed the cyclical low point in shipping markets," Chief Executive Gunter Dunkel said at the state-owned lender's annual press conference on Tuesday, adding that he did not expect the crisis to end in the near term.