Headlines

One of the biggest lenders to South African farmers can’t take on new clients or meet half the needs of existing customers until it gets another government bailout to keep operating, Bloomberg News reported. The state-owned Land and Agricultural Development Bank has asked the National Treasury for 7 billion rand ($455 million) to ease its cash woes and reduce debt. The Pretoria-based institution resumed interest payments on its borrowings in August after getting 3 billion rand from the government, but isn’t yet able to meet capital repayments.

Global debt rose at an unprecedented pace in the first nine months of the year as governments and companies embarked on a “debt tsunami” in the face of the coronavirus crisis, according to new research, the Financial Times reported. The pace of debt accumulation will leave the global economy struggling to reduce borrowing in the future without “significant adverse implications for economic activity”, the Institute of International Finance warned on Wednesday.

As Beijing reins in its largesse and credit stresses rise in China amid a wave of defaults, investors should wonder where the ructions will appear next, Bloomberg News reported in a commentary. Going by the numbers, local government financing vehicles – with trillions of yuan outstanding – seem primed to come under pressure. Their debt is meant to help raise capital for infrastructure and other public projects. Issuance in the first seven months of the year totaled 2.5 trillion yuan ($381 billion), up 32% over the same period in 2019.

Italy plans to widen an existing guarantee scheme for bank loans in a move that will help the country’s lenders cope with any future defaults sparked by the pandemic, a draft of the 2021 budget showed, Reuters reported. Italian banks have raised alarm about the combined effect an obligation to write down problem loans in full over a set number of years could have when coupled with a stricter definition of default kicking in soon and the troubles virus-hit businesses will face once weaned off emergency support schemes.

One morning, after years of financial prudence and solid creditworthiness, you wake up and it’s all gone. You’re no longer worthy. You’re a risk. In fact, you’re sub-prime. That is the fate facing thousands of Britons who, often for no fault of their own, could begin 2021 as “subprime” borrowers if they have had more than six months’ of relief from COVID-19 debt woes, Reuters reported. This could have dire consequences for people who have historically struggled to access credit, especially those on low incomes.

Creditors of the collapsed German payments company Wirecard have made claims for at least 12.5 billion euros ($14.85 billion), a German court said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Wirecard, in a dramatic fall from grace and blow to Germany’s reputation, filed for insolvency earlier this year after disclosing that 1.9 billion euros it claimed to hold in accounts was missing. The firm’s assets are in the process of being sold off around the globe. The claims were made against Wirecard’s holding company at a meeting of creditors and the company’s insolvency administrator in a Munich beer hall.

Zambia finance minister Bwalya Ng’andu said on Wednesday that the country’s default on $3 billion in Eurobonds had increased the risk of bondholders taking legal action, Reuters reported. Zambia became Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default after it failed to pay a $42.5 million Eurobond coupon at the expiry of the grace period on Friday. “There are some risks associated with the decision not to pay.

Norwegian Air has asked an Irish court to oversee a restructuring of its massive debt as it seeks to stave off collapse amid the coronavirus pandemic, the carrier said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Norway’s government on Nov. 9 rejected the airline’s plea for another injection of state funds, and the company said the following day it was at risk of having to halt operations in early 2021 unless it got access to more cash. Growing rapidly to become Europe’s third-largest low-cost airline and the biggest foreign carrier serving New York and other major U.S.

Kenya has a 35 per cent chance of defaulting on its sovereign debt in the next five years, according to a Financial Times survey, The Star reported. The most likely defaulter is Argentina with a probability of 55 per cent but Zambia has just defaulted on its sovereign debt. Debt restructuring is a possibility but lenders like China may reject it and  seize securities like Mombasa port. Even if that is avoided, Kenya will still pay more for its international borrowing because lenders perceive greater risk.

It has almost been a year since troubled Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL) was thrust into insolvency proceedings—the first financial firm to be under the code, Mint reported. The committee of creditors has held 11 meetings so far and a 12th was on at the time of writing this piece. The latest meeting comes in the wake of a surprise bid for DHFL. An Adani Group company now wants to buy DHFL lock, stock and barrel for an amount higher than the highest bid of ₹31,000 crore made by Oaktree Capital so far, according to a Mint report.