Headlines

Romanian economy minister Irineu Darău announced on April 16 the launch in public consultation of a draft law aimed at simplifying the insolvency procedure for individuals, Romania-Insider.com reported. Among the main proposed measures are the reduction of the access threshold to the insolvency procedure and the protection of the family home. “We reduce the access threshold from 15 to 10 minimum wages, so that more people in real difficulty can enter this procedure.

The collapse of Market Financial Solutions and its related entities is behind a sudden surge in insolvency rates across England and Wales, according to data released by the Department for Business and Trade, the Financial Times reported. The department’s Insolvency Service said on Friday that it had seen an 82 per cent increase in administrations in March year on year, “driven by more than 100 connected companies in the real estate sector entering administration”.

A compact process proposed in India to speed up insolvency resolution can be initiated only by financial creditors having a combined share of at least 51% in debt, according to the draft regulations floated by the bankruptcy regulator, the Economic Times of India reported. The defaulting firm in such cases must respond within 30 days to lenders’ notice seeking proceedings under the Creditor-initiated Insolvency Resolution Process (CIIRP). Faster insolvency process proposed with creditor-led resolution framework.

German cutting and post-press machinery manufacturer PCT Maschinenbau is set to enter a self-administered insolvency process, PrintWeek.com reported. Managing director Yorck Richter confirmed the Hofheim mechanical engineering firm had filed for insolvency proceedings on 9 April. Richter said a statement would be issued after the receipt of official court documents. PCT is owned by SOL Capital. Printweek understands the firm employs around 240 staff.

European Union ​exports to the United States dropped by more than a quarter for a second consecutive month in February, but may be exaggerating the ‌impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs, given they follow a year-ago period when front-loading began, Reuters reported. Exports from the 27-nation European Union to the United States fell by 26.4% in February, EU statistics agency Eurostat said on Friday, following a 27.8% drop in January, and contributing to a 60% reduction in the EU's trade surplus.

The World ⁠Bank ⁠Group said ⁠on Thursday it is working on ​a guarantee of up to $2 billion ‌to help refinance “a relevant ‌portion of Argentina’s debt,” Reuters reported. The ⁠operation ⁠is subject to approval by the World Bank’s ​Board of Executive Directors, the bank said. The loan would be mostly backed ​by the International Bank for Reconstruction and ⁠Development (IBRD) and ⁠the Multilateral Investment ⁠Guarantee ​Agency (MIGA), Bloomberg reported earlier on Thursday.

Russia-linked sanctioned crypto exchange Grinex said on Thursday it had ‌suspended operations after assets worth 1 billion ‌roubles ($13.10 million) were stolen during a cyber attack, Reuters reported. Grinex, which is ​based in Kyrgyzstan but linked to Russia, was sanctioned by the U.S., the UK and the European Union last year. In a statement posted on ‌its Telegram channel, ⁠the exchange accused "foreign intelligence services" of unfriendly states of being involved in ⁠the attack. Reuters was not able to verify this claim.

The Bank of England is testing the risks to the financial system caused by AI by conducting scenario analysis and simulations, the central bank said in a letter ​published by lawmakers on Thursday, Reuters reported. The BoE said that it disagreed with an assessment ‌by parliament's Treasury Committee that it was taking a "wait-and-see" approach to the risks presented by AI, and that it was analysing how AI investment and adoption were changing the financial system.

The European Union will urge members to cut their dependence on Middle Eastern jet fuel and look into increasing imports from the U.S., in new guidelines expected next week, an official source told Reuters, as the Iran war disrupts global ‌supply. The plans, previously unreported and still being finalised, will put a greater focus on self-sufficiency and resilience via Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) or synthetic ‌fuels. European airlines have warned of potential jet fuel shortages within weeks as a result of the Iran war, which could disrupt the summer travel season.

Europe needs more euro-based stablecoins, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Friday, and urged the bloc's banks to explore tokenised ‌deposits to help end U.S. dominance in digital payments, Reuters reported. In pre-recorded comments at a crypto ‌conference in Paris, Lescure said the relatively small volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones was "not satisfactory". Banks worldwide ​are experimenting with stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and backed by traditional currencies.